idol

plural idols · alternative obsolete idoll

1. A graven image or representation of anything that is revered, or believed to convey spiritual power.

   There's a one-eyed yellow idol to the north of Kathmandu, There's a little marble cross below the town; There's a broken-hearted woman tends the grave of Mad Carew, And the Yellow God forever gazes down.

   1911, J. Milton Hayes, The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God

   2 more examples

   20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues, yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship deuils, and idoles of golde, and siluer, and brasse, and stone, and of wood, which neither can see, nor heare, nor walke: 21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 9:20–21

   Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.

   1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

2. A cultural icon, or especially popular person.

   Synonyms: icon, star, superstar

3. AsiaA popular entertainer, usually young, captivating and attractive, and often female, with an image of being close to fans.

   Tom Cruise is his idol.

   2 more examples

   Sachin Tendulkar is Rohan's idol.

   They are known as "idols" and their job is "to sell dreams". For decades, the young pop stars of Japan and South Korea have been the envy of teenagers. […] The "no dating" clause of the contracts has resulted in some idols being sued for breaking it, accused of damaging their reputations.

   2016 January 26, Mariko Oi, “The dark side of Asia’s pop music industry”, in BBC, archived from the original on 04 Aug 2025

4. obsoleteAn eidolon or phantom; a misleading or elusive image or representation.