distress signal
noun
a signal used, or designed to be used, by persons in peril, for the purpose of summoning aid, indicating their position, etc., as a radio code sign, aerial flare, flag hoist, or the like.Compare distress call(def 1).
an indication, especially a nonverbal one, that assistance, cooperation, or the like, is needed: He correctly interpreted the host's upturned eyes as a distress signal and hastily changed the subject.
Origin of distress signal
First recorded in 1870–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for distress signal
Historical Examples of distress signal
And it would appear to those to whom he reported that he'd arrived too late at the distress-signal.
Operation TerrorWilliam Fitzgerald Jenkins
distress signal
noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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