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

But Latino voter dissatisfaction persisted despite better economic markers as the election progressed. —Suzanne Gamboa, NBC News, 6 Nov. 2024

In the second quarter of the game at Lincoln Financial Field, the 27-year-old received a pass from quarterback Jalen Hurts on a key third down, still needing to evade two defenders to reach the first down marker. —Ben Morse, CNN, 4 Nov. 2024

The mice that participated in the experiment had high levels of epigenetic markers on genes that control the opening and closing of chromatin. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024

Wills, the executive director of the preservation society, originally had ambitions to secure just three historical markers. —Karina Atkins, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2024

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