road sign

American

[rohd sahyn] / ˈroʊd ˌsaɪn /

noun

a sign posted over or next to a road or highway, as to guide or caution motorists, indicate speed limits or distances, advertise nearby services, etc..

A road sign showed 150 km to Paris.
We passed a road sign indicating construction ahead.

Etymology

Origin of road sign

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“It’s heartbreaking because it’s a road sign that we are going backwards.”

From Salon • Apr. 8, 2026

"It completely saved my life – I was in the middle of nowhere, and without it, I'd be walking about two miles before I found a road sign, let alone a house," he said.

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026

Mount Vernon, about 40 miles northeast of Columbus, greets visitors with a road sign declaring “America’s hometown.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025

But the first road sign on the two-lane highway announcing your arrival in the town name-checks only the Lady Giants, the 2021 state champions.

From Slate • Jun. 19, 2025

She said that she felt like a road sign with birds shitting on her.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023