But the word can refer to more than one object, and that distinction matters.
The original menorah was the Temple lampstand
Britannica defines the menorah as the multibranched candelabrum used in Jewish ritual and notes that the original was seven-branched and associated with the Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem.
That Temple object is the historical core of the symbol.
The Hanukkah lamp is a later ritual adaptation
Britannica explains that the Hanukkah lamp, or hanukkiyah, is a nine-branched version modeled after the Temple menorah and used for the eight-day Hanukkah observance, with an extra light for kindling the others.
This is why people can be talking about different things when they say menorah. The Temple menorah and the Hanukkah menorah are related, but not identical.
The symbol outlived the Temple
Britannica notes that after the destruction of the Second Temple the menorah became a durable sign of Jewish identity and later an emblem of Zionism and of the State of Israel.
That is one reason the symbol carries unusual weight. It links ritual memory, national history, and visual identity.
Why it still matters
The menorah still matters because it shows how a ritual object can become a civilizational symbol without losing its sacred associations.
The shortest accurate answer
A menorah is the multibranched lampstand central to Jewish symbolism, originally seven-branched in the Temple and later adapted in nine-branched form for Hanukkah.