fog signal

American  

noun

1. any of various types of signal used as a warning by vessels navigating in fog or mist.

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fog signal British  

noun

1. a signal used to warn railway engine drivers in fog, consisting of a detonator placed on the line

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Etymology

Origin of fog signal

First recorded in 1750–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fog signal

But the payoff for me came when he demonstrated the station’s rare 1934 diaphone fog signal, which sounds off with two descending blasts, basso profundo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2024

The next morning, I went to the visitor station, in the recently refurbished fog signal building, to see the lighthouse’s original, first-order — as the biggest versions are called — Fresnel lens on display.

From New York Times ● Mar. 27, 2023

The original smokestack, present from 1907 until 1949, served as the exhaust for coal-fired boilers that powered a steam fog signal.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 11, 2016

So I’m sounding the fog signal, and I could hear him, and he’s coming closer.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 29, 2015

From the lighthouse station far to the east he could hear the low, steady intonation of the fog signal diaphone.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson