Link Centre Dictionary

sign

UK/sɑe̯n/ US/saɪn/ very common us
verb (8) noun (11) adjective (1)

verb

1.

mark with one''s signature; write one''s name (on)

  • “She signed the letter and sent it off”
  • “Please sign here”
Synonyms
2.

approve and express assent, responsibility, or obligation

  • “All parties ratified the peace treaty”
  • “Have you signed your contract yet?”
Synonyms
3.

be engaged by a written agreement

  • “He signed to play the casino on Dec. 18”
  • “The soprano signed to sing the new opera”
4.

engage by written agreement

  • “They signed two new pitchers for the next season”
Synonyms
5.

communicate silently and non-verbally by signals or signs

  • “He signed his disapproval with a dismissive hand gesture”
  • “The diner signaled the waiters to bring the menu”
Synonyms
6.

place signs, as along a road

  • “sign an intersection”
  • “This road has been signed”
7.

communicate in sign language

  • “I don”
8.

make the sign of the cross over someone in order to call on God for protection; consecrate

Synonyms

noun

1.

a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)

  • “he showed signs of strain”
  • “they welcomed the signs of spring”
Synonyms
2.

a public display of a (usually written) message

  • “he posted signs in all the shop windows”
3.

any communication that encodes a message

  • “signals from the boat suddenly stopped”
Synonyms
4.

structure displaying a board on which advertisements can be posted

  • “the highway was lined with signboards”
Synonyms
5.
6.

(medicine) any objective evidence of the presence of a disorder or disease

  • “there were no signs of asphixiation”
7.

having an indicated pole (as the distinction between positive and negative electric charges)

  • “he got the polarity of the battery reversed”
  • “charges of opposite sign”
Synonyms
8.

an event that is experienced as indicating important things to come

  • “he hoped it was an augury”
  • “it was a sign from God”
Synonyms
9.

a gesture that is part of a sign language

10.

a fundamental linguistic unit linking a signifier to that which is signified

  • “The bond between the signifier and the signified is arbitrary” -de Saussure
11.

a character indicating a relation between quantities

  • “don”

adjective

1.

used of the language of the deaf

Synonyms
Similar

Origin

From Middle English signen, seinen, seinien, partly from Old English seġnian (“to mark; sign”) and partly from Anglo-Norman seigner, seiner et al., Old French signer et al., and their source Latin signāre (“to mark, seal, indicate, signify”); all from Latin signum (“a mark, sign”); see Etymology 1, above. Compare sain.

Phrases

  • addition sign
  • air sign
  • Asboe-Hansen sign
  • astrological sign
  • at sign
  • Babinski's sign
  • bad sign
  • barber's sign
  • sign away
  • sign in
  • sign into
  • sign into law

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

Parts

Entails

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.