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sign
[ sahyn ]
noun
- an indication or piece of evidence:
The smoke curling from the chimney was a sign that someone was in the cabin.
Synonyms: signal, suggestion, hint, trace
- any object, action, event, pattern, etc., that is taken as conveying a meaning:
I took her silence and fidgeting as a sign of disagreement.
Rising sales of disaster survival kits are a sign of the times.
- a conventional or arbitrary mark, figure, or symbol used as an abbreviation for the word or words it represents:
The dollar sign ($) can be found on your keyboard above the numeral 4.
- a motion or gesture used to express or convey an idea, command, decision, etc.:
Her nod was a sign that it was time to leave.
Synonyms: signal
- a notice, bearing a name, direction, warning, or advertisement, that is displayed or posted for public view:
a traffic sign;
a store sign.
- a trace; vestige:
I looked in my car for your glasses, but there was no sign of them.
- an arbitrary or conventional symbol used in musical notation to indicate tonality, tempo, etc.:
Notice the repeat sign at the end of that bar.
- Medicine/Medical. the objective indications of a disease.
- any meaningful gestural unit belonging to a sign language.
- an omen; portent:
The general unrest was a sign of the approaching revolution.
Synonyms: augury, hint, indication
- Usually signs. traces, such as footprints or scat, of a wild animal.
- Mathematics.
- a plus sign or minus sign used as a symbol for indicating addition or subtraction.
- a plus sign or minus sign used as a symbol for indicating the positive or negative value of a quantity, as an integer.
- a symbol, such as or !, used to indicate a radical or factorial operation.
- Semiotics. a symbol, object, or action together with the meaning given to it. signified ( def ), signifier ( def 2 ).
verb (used with object)
- to affix a signature to:
to sign a letter.
- to write as a signature:
to sign one's name.
- to engage or hire by a written agreement:
to sign a new player.
- to mark with a sign, especially the sign of the cross.
- to communicate by means of a sign; signal:
He signed his wish to leave by an impatient wave of his hand.
- to convey (a message) in a sign language.
- Obsolete. to direct or appoint by a sign.
verb (used without object)
- to write one's signature as an expression of agreement, obligation, receipt, etc.:
Someone will have to be here to sign for the package.
- to communicate by a gesture or signal:
He signed to her to go away.
- to employ a sign language for communication.
- to indicate one’s acceptance of a contract by a signature:
He signed with another team for the next season.
verb phrase
- to indicate one's approval:
The president is expected to sign off on the new agreement.
- to cease radio or television broadcasting, especially at the end of the day.
- to withdraw from a responsibility or connection.
- Informal. to end a conversation, especially on the phone or online:
It's been good talking to you—I'm going to sign off and get back to work.
- to record or authorize one's arrival by providing one's name and other requested information on a register, website, or digital device.
- Digital Technology. to log in to an account on a device or website by entering one’s identifying information:
Go to the Members page and sign in with your username and password.
- to engage (a worker, client, etc.) by a contract:
We’ve signed on three new retailers to distribute the product.
- to commit oneself to a job or other activity by signing a contract:
He signed on as a pitcher with a major-league team.
- to start radio or television broadcasting, especially at the beginning of the day.
- Digital Technology. to log in to an account on a device or website by entering one’s identifying information.
- to express agreement or cooperation:
It looks like both party leaders have signed on to the interest group's agenda.
- to assign or dispose of by affixing one's signature to a document:
She signed over her fortune to the church.
- to enlist, as in an organization or group; to register or subscribe:
to sign up for the navy;
to sign up for a class.
- to record or authorize one’s departure by providing one's name and other requested information on a register, website, or digital device:
Residents of the halfway house must sign out at the office when leaving.
- to record that one is borrowing (a tool, file, book, etc.) by providing one's name and other requested information on a register, website, or digital device:
We can sign out one of the canoes for a few hours and go exploring.
- Digital Technology. to log out of an account on a device or website:
If using a library computer, be sure to sign out at the end of your session.
sign
/ saɪn /
noun
- something that indicates or acts as a token of a fact, condition, etc, that is not immediately or outwardly observable
- an action or gesture intended to convey information, a command, etc
- a board, placard, etc, displayed in public and inscribed with words or designs intended to inform, warn, etc
- ( as modifier )
a sign painter
- an arbitrary or conventional mark or device that stands for a word, phrase, etc
- maths logic
- any symbol indicating an operation
a plus sign
an implication sign
- the positivity or negativity of a number, quantity, or expression
subtraction from zero changes the sign of an expression
- an indication or vestige
the house showed no signs of being occupied
- a portentous or significant event
- an indication, such as a scent or spoor, of the presence of an animal
- med any objective evidence of the presence of a disease or disorder Compare symptom
- astrology Compare sign of the zodiac
verb
- to write (one's name) as a signature to (a document, etc) in attestation, confirmation, ratification, etc
- introften foll byto to make a sign; signal
- to engage or be engaged by written agreement, as a player for a team, etc
- tr to outline in gestures a sign over, esp the sign of the cross
- tr to indicate by or as if by a sign; betoken
- intr to use sign language
Derived Forms
- ˈsignable, adjective
Other Words From
- sign·less adjective
- sign·like adjective
- post·sign verb (used with object)
- un·signed adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of sign1
Word History and Origins
Origin of sign1
Idioms and Phrases
- high sign
- show signs of
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
They are always suspended over a precipice, dangling by a slender thread that shows every sign of snapping.
It was hard not to take it as a sign, a personal comment on my own Jewish dating failings.
If he did, it could be a sign that our politicians are ready to resume genuine policy-making across party lines.
President Harry Truman kept a sign on his desk that read: “The Buck Stops Here.”
Even then, most of us doubted he would show up and actually sign the papers allowing him to enter the 1992 New Hampshire primary.
Its continued presence in pulmonary tuberculosis is, however, a grave prognostic sign, even when the physical signs are slight.
Idly his pen traced upon the paper in front of him a large X, the sign of the unknown quantity.
Here they are seldom abundant, but their constant presence is the most reliable urinary sign of the disease.
Waxy casts are found in most advanced cases of nephritis, where they are an unfavorable sign.
Scouts reported that Porter still occupied his camp, and showed no sign of moving.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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