What does "token" mean?
Something serving as an expression of something else.
Token
/ˈtoʊkən/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Something serving as an expression of something else.
- Grammar: token is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abc, account, adumbration, affect.
- Useful contrasts: meticulous, cash, concrete.
- Usage evidence: May I present this to you in token of my appreciation?
How to use "token"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "token" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "token" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "token" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "token" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "token" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abc" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "token", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Something serving as an expression of something else.
"According to the Bible, the rainbow is a token of God's covenant with Noah."
- 2 something of sentimental value wordnet
- 3 A keepsake.
"Please accept this bustier as a token of our time together."
- 4 a metal or plastic disk that can be redeemed or used in designated slot machines wordnet
- 5 A piece of stamped metal or plastic, etc., used as a form of currency; a voucher that can be exchanged for goods or services.
"Subway tokens are being replaced by magnetic cards."
Show 26 more definitions
- 6 something serving as a sign of something else wordnet
- 7 A small physical object, often designed to give the appearance of a common thing, used to represent a person or character in a board game or other situation.
"Everyone pick a token (hat, wheelbarrow, thimble, etc.) and place it on the Start square."
- 8 an individual instance of a type of symbol wordnet
- 9 A minor attempt for appearance's sake, or to minimally comply with a requirement; a formality.
"His apology was no more than a token."
- 10 A minor attempt for appearance's sake, or to minimally comply with a requirement; a formality.; A member of a group of people that is included within a larger group to comply with a legal or social requirement.
"New York Philharmonic has a token of one Negro. The Pittsburgh Symphony ranks high with three tokens. Cleveland has one, and other major symphony orchestras such as Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago still say, "Get back!""
- 11 Evidence, proof; a confirming detail; physical trace, mark, footprint. figuratively, obsolete, sometimes
- 12 Support for a belief; grounds for an opinion.
- 13 An extraordinary event serving as evidence of supernatural power.
- 14 An object or disclosure to attest or authenticate the bearer or an instruction.
- 15 A seal guaranteeing the quality of an item.
- 16 Something given or shown as a symbol or guarantee of authority or right; a sign of authenticity, of power, good faith.
"Say, by this token, I desire his company."
- 17 A tally.
- 18 A particular thing to which a concept applies.
- 19 An atomic piece of data, such as a word, for which a meaning may be inferred during parsing.
"For each lexeme, the scanner creates a small data package known as a token and passes this data package on to the parser."
- 20 A conceptual object that can be possessed by a computer, process, etc. in order to regulate a turn-taking system such as a token ring network.
- 21 A meaningless placeholder used as a substitute for sensitive data.
- 22 A lexeme; a basic, grammatically indivisible unit of a language such as a keyword, operator or identifier.
- 23 A single example of a certain word in a text or corpus.
"However, note the token ontology, ranked the 15ᵗʰ most frequent token in our ontology corpus, occurs 1940 times out of 336,311 tokens, but ontology only occurs 52 times in the BNC – the ratio of two relative frequencies is 10895."
- 24 A characteristic sign of a disease or of a bodily disorder, a symptom; a sign of a bodily condition, recovery, or health.
- 25 A livid spot upon the body, indicating, or supposed to indicate, the approach of death. obsolete
"Like the fearful tokens of the plague, Are mere fore-runners of their ends."
- 26 Ten and a half quires, or, commonly, 250 sheets, of paper printed on both sides; also, in some cases, the same number of sheets printed on one side, or half the number printed on both sides.
- 27 A bit of leather having a peculiar mark designating a particular miner. Each hewer sent one of these with each corf or tub he had hewn.
"But the coal-owner refuses to pay for a corf or tub simply on the ground that it contains too little weight, or that it contains “softs” instead of all “hards,”—a refusal technically known by its symbol as “hanging the motties," or by a bolder metaphor as “hanging the hutches,”—the “motties,” or tokens peculliar to the collier who sends up the corf. being hung up, if satisfactory, on the proper “motty-board peg,” if not so, on the “death-board peg;” and it is asserted that “at some collieries as many as 60 or 70 each day, worth to the collier from 6d. to 8. each, are taken from them in this manner.”"
- 28 A thin bed of coal indicating the existence of a thicker seam at no great distance.
- 29 A physical object used for exchange between drivers and signalmen on single track lines.
"Although splitting a single-line section into two might seem a simple solution, Williams adds that creating another location where drivers have to get out of the cab and walk to a cabinet to exchange tokens before a train can proceed will further slow down the service: "There must be a better option in the 21st century than putting in an additional token machine.""
- 30 In a loom, a colored signal to show the weaver which shuttle to use.
- 31 A piece of metal given beforehand to each person in the congregation who is permitted to partake of the Lord's Supper.
Verb
- 1 To betoken, indicate, portend, designate, denote
"dorrẹ̅, dōrī adj. & n. […] Golden or reddish-yellow […] (a. 1398) *Trev. Barth. 59b/a: ʒelouʒ colour [of urine] […] tokeneþ febleness of hete […] dorrey & citrine & liʒt red tokeneþ mene."
- 2 To betroth
- 3 To symbolize, instantiate
"In which sense does ‘∀p ~(p & ~p)’ cause the tokening of the belief in the subject?"
Adjective
- 1 Done as an indication or a pledge.
- 2 Perfunctory or merely symbolic; done or existing for appearance's sake, or to minimally comply with a requirement.
"a token gesture"
- 3 Included in minimal numbers in order to create an impression or illusion of diversity, especially ethnic or gender diversity.
"He was hired as the company's token black person."
Adjective
- 1 insignificantly small; a matter of form only (‘tokenish’ is informal) wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"May I present this to you in token of my appreciation?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "token"?
Common synonyms include: abc, account, adumbration, affect, agent, allegory.
How do you use "token" in a sentence?
May I present this to you in token of my appreciation?
How do you pronounce "token"?
Pronounced /ˈtoʊkən/.
Etymology
From Middle English token, taken, from Old English tācn (“sign, symbol”), from Proto-West Germanic *taikn, from Proto-Germanic *taikną (“indicator, symbol, sign”), from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show, instruct, teach”) with Germanic *k rather than *h by Kluge's law. Cognate with Scots takin, taiken (“token, sign”), Saterland Frisian Teken (“sign, symbol”), West Frisian teken (“sign, mark, symbol”), Dutch teken (“sign, indication, symbol”), German Low German Teken (“sign, symbol”), German Zeichen (“sign, token”), Danish tegn (“sign, token, character”), Swedish tecken (“sign, indication”), Faroese tekn, tekin (“mark, sign, signal”), Icelandic teikn (“sign, omen”), Icelandic tákn (“symbol”). The verb is from Middle English toknen, from Old English tācnian.