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English (UK)
Cambridge Dictionary Online

Meaning of symbol in English

symbol
noun [ C ]
uk
/ˈsɪm.bəl/ us
/ˈsɪm.bəl/
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B2
a sign, shape, or object that is used to represent something else:
A heart shape is the symbol of love.
The wheel in the Indian flag is a symbol of peace.
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emblem
 
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something that is used to represent a quality or idea:
Water, a symbol of life, recurs as an image throughout her poems.
a number, letter, or sign used in mathematics, music, science, etc.:
The symbol for oxygen is O.
An object can be described as a symbol of something else if it seems to represent it because it is connected with it in a lot of people's minds:
The private jet is a symbol of wealth.
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Signs, signals and symbols
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Grammar

Symbols and typographic conventions
. …
(Definition of symbol from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

symbol | American Dictionary

symbol
noun [ C ]
us
/ˈsɪm·bəl/
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anything used to represent something else, such as a sign or mark, a person, or an event:
Five interlocking rings is the symbol of the Olympic games.
She’s a symbol of hope for people living with this condition.
Symbols are used in mathematics, music, and science and also have various practical uses:
The symbol on this label means that the shirt is washable.

symbolic

adjective us
/sɪmˈbɑl·ɪk/
The Oval Office in the White House has come to be regarded as symbolic of the presidency.

symbolically

adverb us/sɪmˈbɑl·ɪk·li/
(Definition of symbol from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

symbol | Business English

symbol
noun [ C ]
uk
/ˈsɪmbəl/ us
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a sign, shape, or object that is used to represent something else:
The Nike tick is an instantly recognizable symbol.
something that shows someone's position in society:
The BlackBerry and the iPhone, initially symbols of high status, have become popular choices in the marketplace.
Owning a car has become a symbol of success in China's main cities.
STOCK MARKET
→  ticker

See also

status symbol
(Definition of symbol from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of symbol

symbol
If it does, then this modifier is considered an object and the symbol is removed from the list.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The grey area surrounded by a symbol shows the allowable range for the control points to stay within the designated vehicle class.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Thinking about language has become symbolic, with clear and non-ambiguous symbols highly suitable for producing symbolic and rule-like reasoning.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Insights into this planning can be obtained by examining its themes and symbols.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Looking at the symbols in question from this perspective, it becomes conceivable that they represent various things.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
On the other hand, people who have studied neural network models have tended to neglect symbol manipulation.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Indicated are the number of visits per flower for each observation hour, with a different symbol for each observation day.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Perhaps those mysterious mathematical symbols did mean something after all.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
They all adopt the target natural language's syntax as the input syntax of the symbol sequences.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Let (k) be the set of bi-infinite sequences on k symbols.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Algorithmic aesthetics are developed based on the aesthetic measure theory, surveys of human preferences, and popular long-lasting symbols.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Indeed, if the symbol of the hunter dominated the ideology of the state, the notion of the blacksmith was more visible in personal\residential relations.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
We also assume that the code of syntactic objects (such as type statements and type derivations) is elementary in the number of symbol-occurrences therein.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
His flowing graphism is not only an elegant record of the physical movement of the artist's hand, but a symbol of the motion of atoms.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The elemental nature of the musical note facilitates its specification using abstract symbols.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with symbol

symbol

These are words often used in combination with symbol.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

appropriate symbol
Therefore, it could be used as an appropriate symbol for nourishment.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
graphic symbol
Thus, the participants were consistent in the ways they constructed two distinct types of complex sentences on a graphic symbol display.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
linguistic symbol
But besides their instrumental functions, linguistic symbols can themselves represent cultural values.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
See all collocations with symbol
What is the pronunciation of symbol?
 

Translations of symbol

in Chinese (Traditional)
標誌，象徵, （某種特性或思想的）代表，象徵, 符號，代號，記號…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
标志，象征, （某种特性或思想的）代表，象征, 符号，代号，记号…
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in Spanish
símbolo, símbolo [masculine, singular]…
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in Portuguese
símbolo, símbolo [masculine]…
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in more languages
in Marathi
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Dutch
in Tamil
in Hindi
in Gujarati
in Danish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Urdu
in Ukrainian
in Telugu
in Bengali
in Czech
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Korean
in Italian
चिन्ह, प्रतीक, लक्षण…
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記号, 象徴, シンボル…
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imge, işaret, im…
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symbole [masculine], symbole…
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símbol…
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symbool…
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ஒரு அடையாளம், வடிவம் அல்லது வேறு எதையாவது குறிக்கப் பயன்படும் பொருள், ஒரு தரம் அல்லது யோசனையை பிரதிநிதித்துவப்படுத்த பயன்படும் ஒன்று…
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चिह्न, प्रतीक, (कोई गुण या विचार को दर्शाने वाला एक) लक्षण…
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ચિહ્ન, પ્રતીક, સંકેત (ગુણવત્તા અથવા વિચાર દર્શાવતું)…
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symbol…
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symbol…
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simbol…
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das Symbol…
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symbol [neuter], tegn, symbol…
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نشان, علامت, رمز…
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символ, емблема…
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చిహ్నం, ప్రతీక, గణితంలో సంగీతంలో విజ్ఞాన శాస్త్రంలో వాడే ఒక సంఖ్య లేక అక్షరము లేక చిహ్నం…
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প্রতীক, প্রতীক বা রূপক, চিহ্ন…
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symbol…
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lambang…
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สัญลักษณ์…
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biểu tượng…
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symbol…
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상징…
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simbolo…
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Word of the Day

smooth something over

UK
/smuːð/
US
/smuːð/

to make problems, difficulties, or disagreements less serious or easier to solve, usually by talking to the people involved

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