marker

[mahr-ker] /ˈmɑr kər/
noun
1.
a person or thing that marks.
2.
something used as a mark or indication, as a bookmark or tombstone.
3.
a person who records the scores, points, etc., as in a game or contest.
4.
a counter used in card playing.
5.
Genetics. genetic marker.
6.
Psychology. an object, as a book or topcoat left at a library table, used to establish territorial possession in a public place.
7.
Linguistics.
  1. an element of a construction, as a coordinating conjunction, that is not a part of either immediate constituent.
  2. an element that indicates the grammatical class or function of a construction.
8.
a small radio beacon, automatically operated, used for local navigation of vessels.
9.
mile-marker.
10.
Also called marker pen, marking pen. a pen designed for making bold, colorful, or indelible marks, as in making signs or identifying objects.
11.
Slang.
  1. a debt, especially a gambling debt.
  2. a written or signed promise to pay a debt, especially a gambling debt; a promissory note or IOU.
12.
Also called marker crude. Commerce. a grade of oil on which prices of other crude oils are based.
13.
Citizens Band Radio Slang. one's location while driving on a highway, as determined by the nearest milepost.
Origin
1480-90; mark1 + -er1
Examples from the web for marker
  • Of course, writing in cursive is no more a sign of intelligence than using whom correctly, but it was a marker.
  • The marker papers are examples of competent student writing at each grade level.
  • Gray latex paint and paintbrush, or a thick permanent marker.
  • For every cool marker, there's its uncool counterpart-to be avoided at all costs.
  • We traversed up and then across the glacier to pick up all of our old marker flags from a hike in the fog two days earlier.
  • Subventions are no longer a marker of vanity presses.
  • And a big social marker for community organization is race.
  • They write on your skin with a marker, around the allergens, to indicate what's what.
  • Allow an automatic time-marker to be embedded in the notes at intervals set by the user.
  • It is part of our finitude, but it should not be taken as the key marker of our humanity.
British Dictionary definitions for marker

marker

/ˈmɑːkə/
noun
1.
  1. something used for distinguishing or marking
  2. (as modifier): a marker buoy
2.
a person or thing that marks
3.
a person or object that keeps or shows scores in a game
4.
a trait, condition, gene, or substance that indicates the presence of, or a probable increased predisposition to, a medical or psychological disorder See biological marker, genetic marker, medical marker
Word Origin and History for marker
n.

Old English mearcere "writer, notary" (glossing Latin notarius "clerk"), literally "one who marks," agent noun from mark (v). Not found again until late 15c., hence modern use is perhaps a separate formation. Meaning "monument stone" is from 1888. Meaning "felt-tipped marker pen" is from 1951, so called because their purpose was to "highlight" text.

marker in Medicine

marker mark·er (mär'kər)
n.

  1. One that marks or serves as a mark.

  2. A physiological substance, such as human chorionic gonadotropin or alpha-fetoprotein, that may indicate disease when present in abnormal amounts in the serum, as that caused by a malignancy. Also called biomarker.

  3. A genetic marker.

Slang definitions & phrases for marker

marker

noun
  1. iou: He is willing to take Charley's marker for a million (1887+)
  2. point or score: eight markers in the first period (1940s+ Sports)