ICON

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does icon mean? 

• ICON (noun)
  The noun ICON has 3 senses:

1. (computer science) a graphic symbol (usually a simple picture) that denotes a program or a command or a data file or a concept in a graphical user interface

2. a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface

3. a conventional religious painting in oil on a small wooden panel; venerated in the Eastern Church

  Familiarity information: ICON used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ICON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(computer science) a graphic symbol (usually a simple picture) that denotes a program or a command or a data file or a concept in a graphical user interface

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("icon" is a kind of...):

symbol (an arbitrary sign (written or printed) that has acquired a conventional significance)

Domain category:

computer science; computing (the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures)

Holonyms ("icon" is a part of...):

graphical user interface; GUI (a user interface based on graphics (icons and pictures and menus) instead of text; uses a mouse as well as a keyboard as an input device)

Derivation:

iconic (relating to or having the characteristics on an icon)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

icon; ikon; image; picture

Context example:

a movie is a series of images projected so rapidly that the eye integrates them

Hypernyms ("icon" is a kind of...):

representation (a creation that is a visual or tangible rendering of someone or something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "icon"):

bitmap; electronic image (an image represented as a two dimensional array of brightness values for pixels)

chiaroscuro (a monochrome picture made by using several different shades of the same color)

collage; montage (a paste-up made by sticking together pieces of paper or photographs to form an artistic image)

foil; transparency (picture consisting of a positive photograph or drawing on a transparent base; viewed with a projector)

computer graphic; graphic (an image that is generated by a computer)

iconography (the images and symbolic representations that are traditionally associated with a person or a subject)

inset (a small picture inserted within the bounds or a larger one)

likeness; semblance (picture consisting of a graphic image of a person or thing)

cyclorama; diorama; panorama (a picture (or series of pictures) representing a continuous scene)

reflection; reflexion (the image of something as reflected by a mirror (or other reflective material))

CAT scan; scan (an image produced by scanning)

echogram; sonogram (an image of a structure that is produced by ultrasonography (reflections of high-frequency sound waves); used to observe fetal growth or to study bodily organs)

Derivation:

iconic (relating to or having the characteristics on an icon)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A conventional religious painting in oil on a small wooden panel; venerated in the Eastern Church

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

icon; ikon

Hypernyms ("icon" is a kind of...):

painting; picture (graphic art consisting of an artistic composition made by applying paints to a surface)

Derivation:

iconic (relating to or having the characteristics on an icon)