From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtokento‧ken1 /ˈtəʊkən $ ˈtoʊ-/ ●○○ noun [countable] 1 Ta round piece of metal that you use instead of money in some machines2 formalREPRESENT something that represents a feeling, fact, event etca token of your gratitude/respect/appreciation etc Please accept this gift as a small token of our appreciation. → by the same token at same1(8)3 → book/record/gift token
Examples from the Corpus
token• There will be another token tomorrow to complete your voucher.• Sheaths were often lovingly carved and given as love tokens or dowry gifts.• By the same token, big manufacturers are often shareholders in their chosen bank.• By the same token, cinemas had no operators, and so few halls remained open.• By the same token, it has not been a triumph for the Tory Party.• a subway token• But I restrained the impulse, for it is as well to eke out such tokens of our goodwill as we possess.• Ten tokens meant a bike ride round the park with one of his parents.• The service returns the tokens to the customer with an explanation.a token of your gratitude/respect/appreciation etc• Chief, I just offered you a token of my appreciation.tokentoken2 ●○○ adjective [only before noun] 1 PRETENDa token action, change etc is small and not very important, and is usually only done so that someone can pretend that they are dealing with a problem The government thinks it can get away with token gestures on environmental issues.2 → token woman/black etc3 START DOING somethingdone as a first sign that an agreement, promise etc will be kept and that more will be done later A small token payment will keep the bank happy.Examples from the Corpus
token• Before that year, he had given only token amounts to the party and its candidates.• Both sides agreed to a few token compromises.• Along the way, it effectively preempted the problem of needing to take on token individuals to comply with government mandates.• Arafat won the presidency, with only token opposition.• Female psychologists may themselves use their token status in a restricting way.• You have to be both token woman and superwoman to come anywhere near a shortlist that disenfranchises most of the male population.• We shouldn't accept the analysis of the token woman.From Longman Business Dictionarytokento‧ken1 /ˈtəʊkənˈtoʊ-/ noun [countable] a piece of paper, card, plastic etc that can be exchanged for goodsCollect eight of these tokens and send off for a free recipe book. → book token → gift tokentokentoken2 adjective [only before a noun] done or given only as a small sign of something larger or more importanta token cut in interest ratesThere is a token charge (=a small charge that does not cover the actual cost of something) for the use of the database.The players were amateurs and received only a token payment plus expenses.Origin token1 Old English tacen, tacn “sign, token” 