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Definition of 'idol'

Word Frequency

idol

(aɪdəl )

Word forms: plural idols

1. countable noun

If you refer to someone such as a film, pop, or sports star as an idol, you mean that they are greatly admired or loved by their fans.

A great cheer went up from the crowd as they caught sight of their idol.

He looks more like a stockbroker than a teen idol.

Synonyms: hero, superstar, pin-up, favourite More Synonyms of idol

2. countable noun

An idol is a statue or other object that is worshipped by people who believe that it is a god.

3.

See fallen idol

More Synonyms of idol

COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

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Word Frequency

idol in British English

(ˈaɪdəl )

noun

1.

a material object, esp a carved image, that is worshipped as a god

2. Christianity, Judaism

any being (other than the one God) to which divine honour is paid

3.

a person who is revered, admired, or highly loved

Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

Word origin

C13: from Late Latin īdōlum, from Latin: image, from Greek eidōlon, from eidos shape, form

Word Frequency

idol in American English

(ˈaɪdəl )

noun

1.

an image of a god, used as an object or instrument of worship

2.

in monotheistic belief, any heathen deity

3.

any object of ardent or excessive devotion or admiration

4.

a false notion or idea that causes errors in thinking or reasoning

5. Archaic

anything that has no substance but can be seen, as an image in a mirror

6. Obsolete

a.

any image or effigy

b.

Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Word origin

ME idole < OFr < L idolum, an image, form, specter, apparition (in LL(Ec), idol) < Gr eidōlon, an image, phantom (in LGr(Ec), idol) < eidos, form: see -oid

Word Frequency

idol in American English

(ˈaidl)

noun

1.

an image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed

2. Bible

a.

an image of a deity other than God

b.

the deity itself

3.

any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion

Madame Curie had been her childhood idol

4.

a mere image or semblance of something, visible but without substance, as a phantom

5.

a figment of the mind; fantasy

6.

a false conception or notion; fallacy

Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019 by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Word origin

[1200–50; ME ‹ LL īdōlum ‹ Gk eídōlon image, idol, deriv. of eîdos shape, form]

Examples of 'idol' in a sentence
idol

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content.Read more…

And now that the great beauty had publicly announced her indifference to Joyce's idol she had some sliver of hope.His precious face, his golden face, the beauty that had made him the idol of millions, had been irreparably damaged.Its head rotated as it tracked a brilliant moorish idol swimming before it, and its gills rippled as they expelled water.

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idol

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In other languages
idol

British English: idol NOUN /ˈaɪdəl/

An idol is a famous person who is greatly admired or loved.

A great cheer went up from the crowd as they caught sight of their idol.

American English: idol /ˈaɪdəl/
Brazilian Portuguese: ídolo
Chinese: 偶像
European Spanish: ídolo
French: idole
German: Idol
Italian: idolo
Japanese: アイドル
Korean: 우상
European Portuguese: ídolo
Latin American Spanish: ídolo
Thai: ขวัญใจประชาชน, คนดัง

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Nearby words of
idol

Related terms of
idol

Source

Definition of idol from theCollins English Dictionary

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Scrabble score
for 'idol':
5

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