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.
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Origin of distress signal
First recorded in 1870–75
Words nearby distress signal
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for distress signal
And it would appear to those to whom he reported that he'd arrived too late at the distress-signal.
Operation Terror|William Fitzgerald Jenkins
British Dictionary definitions for distress signal
distress signal
noun
a signal by radio, Very light, etc from a ship or other vessel in need of immediate assistance
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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