# iconic

Pronunciation: US say "y-KAH-nik" /aɪˈkɑnɪk/; say "y-KON-ik" UK /aɪˈkɒnɪk/, AUS /aɪˈkɔnɪk/

## Adjective

1. Famous for being a distinctive, representative example of its type.
   - Simple: Famous and easy to recognize as a clear example of its kind.
   - _The moon landing became an iconic moment of the twentieth century, replayed on television for decades._
   - _Planners considered building a new terminal, but the city wanted to keep its iconic Art Deco hall._
2. Distinctive and characteristic, serving as a mark of a particular person's or thing's identity.
   - Simple: Special to one person or thing, so that it marks who or what it is.
   - _With its iconic curved grille, the car is recognizable from a block away._
   - _The skater's iconic spin-and-grab is the trick that kids copy at every park._
3. Relating to an icon, or having the qualities of one.
   - Simple: Having to do with an icon, or like an icon.
   - _Unlike the aniconic stone pillars nearby, the temple's iconic images show each god with a face and limbs._
   - _The artist borrowed the iconic style of Byzantine church painting, with flat gold backgrounds and solemn, frontal faces._
4. Standing for or representing something, as a sign does.
   - Simple: Showing or standing for something, the way a sign or picture does.
   - _Words for animal noises, such as buzz and moo, are iconic, imitating the sounds they name._
   - _The speaker's iconic gestures traced the shape of the spiral staircase as she described it._

## Origin

From Late Latin īconicus, from Ancient Greek εἰκονικός (eikonikós); by surface analysis, it is icon + -ic.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/iconic (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).