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sign-on

American  
[sahyn-on, -awn] / ˈsaɪnˌɒn, -ˌɔn /

noun

  1. Radio and Television. the opening salutation, station identification, etc., at the beginning of the broadcast day.

  2. an act or instance of signing on.

sign on British  

verb

  1. (tr) to hire or employ

  2. (intr) to commit oneself to a job, activity, etc

  3. (intr) to register as unemployed with the Department of Social Security

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
sign on Idioms  

  1. Enlist oneself as an employee, as in Arthur decided to sign on with the new software company . [Late 1800s]

  2. Begin radio or television broadcasting, especially at the beginning of the day, as in What time does the station sign on? [c. 1920]

Etymology

Origin of sign-on

First recorded in 1880–85; noun use of verb phrase sign on

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.