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symbol

Definition of Symbol

(noun) Anything that represents something else.

Examples of Symbol

Symbol Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: sym·bol

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /sIm-buhl/
  • British English – /sIm-buhl/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /ˈsɪmbəl/
  • British English – /ˈsɪmbəl/

Usage Notes

  • Plural: symbols
  • Also called symbolic representation.
  • Types: status symbol

Related Quotations

  • “Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behaviour, acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i.e., historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, on the other as conditioning elements of further action” (Kroeber and Kluckhohn 1952:181).
  • “Culture could not exist without symbols because there would be no shared meanings among people” (Kendall 2006:48).
  • “[Culture is] a ‘tool kit’ of symbols, stories, rituals, and world-views, which people may use in varying configurations to solve different kinds of problems” (Swidler 1986:273).
  • “Symbols are instrumental in helping people derive meaning from social interactions. In social encounters, each person’s interpretation or definition of a given situation becomes a subjective reality from that person’s viewpoint. We often assume that what we consider ‘reality’ is shared by others; however, this assumption is often incorrect” (Kendall 2006:20).

Related Videos

Additional Information

Related Terms

References

Kendall, Diana. 2006. Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Kroeber, Alfred L., and Clyde Kluckhohn. 1952. Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions. Cambridge, MA: Peabody Museum of American Archæology and Ethnology.

Swidler, Ann. 1986. “Culture in Action: Symbols and Strategies.” American Sociological Review 51(2):273–86. doi:10.2307/2095521.

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Cite the Definition of Symbol

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “symbol.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved December 14, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/symbol/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

symbol. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/symbol/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “symbol.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed December 14, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/symbol/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“symbol.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 14 Dec. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/symbol/>.