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signpost

[sahyn-pohst]
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noun
  1. a post bearing a sign that gives information or guidance.
  2. any immediately perceptible indication, obvious clue, etc.
verb (used with object)
  1. to provide (a place, route, etc.) with signposts.

Origin of signpost

First recorded in 1610–20; sign + post1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for signpost

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • "As that is the case, you have no right to have that signpost at the end of the lane," I retorted.

  • The column marching on and passing a signpost, each unit read what it had to say.

    The Long Roll

    Mary Johnston

  • A signpost told him that the dusty ribbon was the Nine-Mile road.

    The Long Roll

    Mary Johnston

  • Michael nodded, saluting, so to speak, the signpost into the future as he passed it.

    Michael

    E. F. Benson

  • Surely he must presently come to some village, or some signpost.

    The Magic World

    Edith Nesbit

British Dictionary definitions for signpost

signpost

noun
  1. a post bearing a sign that shows the way, as at a roadside
  2. something that serves as a clue or indication; sign
verb (tr; usually passive)
  1. to mark with signposts
  2. to indicate direction towardsthe camp site is signposted from the road
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

Word Origin and History for signpost

n.

also sign-post, 1610s, "sign on a post, usually indicating an inn or shop," from sign (n.) + post (n.1). Meaning "guide- or direction-post along a road" is attested from 1863. Figurative sense is from 1889.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper