token

[ toh-kuhn ]

noun

1. something serving to represent or indicate some fact, event, feeling, etc.; sign:

   Black is a token of mourning.

2. a characteristic indication or mark of something; evidence or proof:

   Malnutrition is a token of poverty.

3. a memento; souvenir; keepsake:

   The seashell was a token of their trip.

4. something used to indicate authenticity, authority, etc.; emblem; badge:

   Judicial robes are a token of office.

5. Also called to·ken coin. a stamped piece of metal, issued as a limited medium of exchange, as for bus fares, at a nominal value much greater than its commodity value.
6. anything of only nominal value used in exchange for goods or services, as paper currency.
7. virtual token.
8. an item, idea, etc., representing a group; a part as representing the whole; sample; indication:

   The religious movement was an exhibition of latent energy, and a token of what may take place at some future day.

9. a person, especially a member of a minority group, who has been hired, admitted, enrolled, etc., to forestall charges of prejudice or discrimination.
10. an object, as a disk or figure, used in various board games for marking a player's position or for keeping score.
11. Logic, Linguistics. a particular instance of a word, symbol, expression, sentence, or the like: Compare type ( def 8 ).

    A printed page might have twenty tokens of the single type-word “and.”

verb (used with object)

1. to be a token of; signify; symbolize.

adjective

1. serving as a token:

   At the end of the field trip each child received a token gift to take home as a memento.

   The HR complaint was filed by a man who felt his hiring had been meant to add a token male to an all-female staff.

   Synonyms: symbolic

2. slight; nominal; minimal:

   token resistance;

   a token amount.

token

/ ˈtəʊkən /

noun

1. an indication, warning, or sign of something
2. a symbol or visible representation of something
3. something that indicates authority, proof, or authenticity
4. a metal or plastic disc, such as a substitute for currency for use in slot machines
5. a memento
6. a gift voucher that can be used as payment for goods of a specified value
7. modifier as a matter of form only; nominal

   a token increase in salary

8. linguistics a symbol regarded as an individual concrete mark, not as a class of identical symbols Compare type
9. philosophy an individual instance: if the same sentence has different truth-values on different occasions of utterance the truth-value may be said to attach to the sentence-token Compare type
10. by the same token
    moreover and for the same or a similar reason

verb

1. tr to act or serve as a warning or symbol of; betoken

Other Words From

• pre·to·ken noun verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of token¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English token(e), tokin(e), Old English tāc(e)n, tācon; cognate with German Zeichen, Old Norse teikn, tākn “sign, mark”; teach

Word History and Origins

Origin of token¹

Old English tācen; related to Old Frisian tēken, Old Saxon tēkan, Old High German zeihhan, Old Norse teikn; see teach

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. by the same token,
   1. moreover; furthermore:

      She has a talent as a painter, and by the same token has a sharp eye for detail.

   2. in proof of which:

      The study examined the possible effects of stress on health and, by the same token, IQ and test scores.

2. in token of, as a sign of; in evidence of:

   a ring in token of his love.

More idioms and phrases containing token

see by the same token ; in token of .

Example Sentences

These "non-fungible tokens" are pieces of digital artwork that have no intrinsic value, other than that prescribed by people.

From BBC

A tree is sent from Norway each year as token of thanks for Britain's support during World War Two.

From BBC

Online traders accused him of using insider information from the auction house to financially benefit from the token’s rising price.

From New York Times

Then - following a familiar pattern - large-scale holders of the token began selling, causing its price to fall by 96% in just two weeks.

From BBC

As the final whistle was blown, there were some small sporadic boos around the stadium but that was a token gesture.

From BBC

Related Words

• badge
• expression
• manifestation
• memento
• proof
• souvenir
• symbol