marker

noun

mark·​er ˈmär-kər 

1

: one that marks

2

: something used for marking: such as

a

: a type of felt tip pen that makes wide lines

drew a tree with green and brown markers

used a permanent marker to label the boxes

b

: any of various sewing devices for making or indicating guidelines

a pin marker for hemlines

3

: score sense 7

specifically : run

4

: promissory note, iou

5

: something that serves to identify, predict, or characterize: such as

a

: biomarker

b

: genetic marker

Synonyms

• label
• tag
• ticket

Examples of marker in a Sentence

A person's accent can be a marker of social class.

the markers on the rock and mineral specimens were old and faded

Recent Examples on the Web

According to one study, using avocado oil instead of butter in a meal reduces post-meal inflammatory markers in healthy, overweight adults.4 3. —Amy Brownstein, Ms, Rdn, Verywell Health, 31 Jan. 2025

Many fans and analysts believed Allen had successfully reached the first down marker, and the call significantly impacted the game's outcome. —Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 28 Jan. 2025

Trump also recently signed executive orders restricting transgender participation in the military, ending federal legal recognition of transgender people, and restricting gender marker changes on federal documents. —Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 28 Jan. 2025

Orr applied to update their name and gender marker on their passport on January 16 — days before Trump was sworn into office. —Orion Rummler, Them, 28 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing marker

• genetic marker

Kids Definition

marker

noun

mark·​er ˈmär-kər 

1

: one that marks

2

: something used for marking

Medical Definition

marker

noun

mark·​er ˈmär-kər 

: something that serves to identify, predict, or characterize

a surface marker on a cell that acts as an antigen

: as

a

: biomarker

The recent discovery of a serological marker for the hepatitis C virus has greatly improved diagnostic accuracy for this form of hepatitis.

—Gary P. Wormser, letter in The Journal of the American Medical Association

b

: genetic marker

The idea in genetic linkage analysis is to see if any particular marker, which serves as a signpost for a specific region of a chromosome, is consistently inherited along with the disease …

—Leslie Roberts, Science

called also marker gene