TOKEN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does token mean? 

• TOKEN (noun)
  The noun TOKEN has 4 senses:

1. an individual instance of a type of symbol

2. something serving as a sign of something else

3. a metal or plastic disk that can be redeemed or used in designated slot machines

4. something of sentimental value

  Familiarity information: TOKEN used as a noun is uncommon.

• TOKEN (adjective)
  The adjective TOKEN has 1 sense:

1. insignificantly small; a matter of form only ('tokenish' is informal)

  Familiarity information: TOKEN used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TOKEN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An individual instance of a type of symbol

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

item; token

Context example:

the word 'error' contains three tokens of 'r'

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

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

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

postage; postage stamp; stamp (a small adhesive token stuck on a letter or package to indicate that that postal fees have been paid)

trading stamp (a token resembling a stamp given by a retailer to a buyer; the token is redeemable for articles on a special list)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Something serving as a sign of something else

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

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

mark; sign (a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened))

Sense 3

Meaning:

A metal or plastic disk that can be redeemed or used in designated slot machines

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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

disc; disk (a flat circular plate)

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

subway token (a token that is used to pay for entry to the subway system)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Something of sentimental value

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

keepsake; relic; souvenir; token

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

object; physical object (a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow)

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

love-token (keepsake given as a token of love)

favor; favour; party favor; party favour (souvenir consisting of a small gift given to a guest at a party)

• TOKEN (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Insignificantly small; a matter of form only ('tokenish' is informal)

Synonyms:

nominal; token; tokenish

Context example:

a tokenish gesture

Similar:

minimal; minimum (the least possible)

 Context examples 

As I started toward the weather side I saw him make a sudden motion with his head, which I mistook for a token of recognition and good-morning.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

A number or token that lets a program access a resource.

(Handle, NCI Thesaurus)

He’s a token of evil.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

That I have dared to come here is a token of what I have already learned.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Many had brought some parting token by which he should remember them.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

She was brought into the parlour with many tokens of welcome, and there formally recognized my mother as a new and near relation.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

It looks as if they always send their singular warning or token before them when starting upon their mission.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

However, on the third night the soldier carried away one of the golden cups as a token of where he had been.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

A fan, a glove, glasses—who knows what article may be carried as a token or treasured when a man puts an end to his life?

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He was to know fear many times in his dealing with man; yet it was a token of the fearless companionship with man that was ultimately to be his.

(White Fang, by Jack London)