# symbol

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsɪmbəl/ · frequency rank #4,274

## Definitions
1. A character or glyph representing an idea, concept or object.
2. A thing considered the embodiment or cardinal exemplar of a concept, theme, or other thing.
3. A type of noun whereby the form refers to the same entity independently of the context; a symbol arbitrarily denotes a referent. See also icon and index.
4. A summary of a dogmatic statement of faith.
5. The numerical expression which defines a plane's position relative to the assumed axes.
6. That which is thrown into a common fund; hence, an appointed or accustomed duty.
7. Share; allotment.
8. An internal identifier used by a debugger to relate parts of the compiled program to the corresponding names in the source code.
9. A signalling event on a communications channel; a signal that cannot be further divided into meaningful information.

## Etymology
From French symbole, from Latin symbolus, symbolum (“a sign, mark, token, symbol, in Late Latin also a creed”), from Ancient Greek σύμβολον (súmbolon, “a sign by which one infers something; a mark, token, badge, ticket, tally, check, a signal, watchword, outward sign”), from συμβάλλω (sumbállō, “to throw together, dash together, compare, correspond, tally, come to a conclusion”), from σύν (sún, “with, together”) + βάλλω (bállō, “to throw, put”).

## Easily confused with
- **symbols** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/symbol-vs-symbols)
- **symbolic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/symbol-vs-symbolic)
- **Sybil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sybil-vs-symbol)
- **cymbal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cymbal-vs-symbol)

## Common misspellings (10)
`smybol`, `ssymbol`, `sybmol`, `symbbol`, `symblo`, `symboll`, `symmbol`, `symobl`, `syymbol`, `ysmbol`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/symbol