semaphore
Americannoun
-
an apparatus for conveying information by means of visual signals, as a light whose position may be changed.
-
any of various devices for signaling by changing the position of a light, flag, etc.
-
a system of signaling, especially a system by which a special flag is held in each hand and various positions of the arms indicate specific letters, numbers, etc.
verb (used with or without object)
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semaphores,
present (3rd person singular)
-
semaphored,
past participle, past
-
semaphoring
present participle
noun
-
an apparatus for conveying information by means of visual signals, as with movable arms or railway signals, flags, etc
-
a system of signalling by holding a flag in each hand and moving the arms to designated positions to denote each letter of the alphabet
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
semaphoresimple
-
semaphoressimple
-
have semaphoredperfect
-
has semaphoredperfect
-
am semaphoringprogressive
-
are semaphoringprogressive
-
is semaphoringprogressive
-
have been semaphoringperfect progressive
-
has been semaphoringperfect progressive
Past
-
semaphoredsimple
-
had semaphoredperfect
-
was semaphoringprogressive
-
were semaphoringprogressive
-
had been semaphoringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of semaphore
First recorded in 1810–20; from French sémaphore, from Greek sêma “sign”; see -phore
Explanation
A semaphore is a gadget used for conveying signals. Semaphores have either lights or mechanical arms that move. The word semaphore is related to a Greek word meaning "signal," and that's exactly the purpose of semaphores: they give signals. The place you're most likely to have seen a semaphore is a railroad crossing: the gadget with moving arms is a semaphore. Some semaphores have mechanical arms, while others just use lights to communicate. A semaphore system can also use flags. In all cases, semaphores give visual signals that communicate something important, especially to people traveling.
Vocabulary lists containing semaphore
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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.
See Examples For:
That meant learning semaphore to send messages during the day and Morse code for nighttime communications.
From Seattle Times ● May 30, 2024
We also found semaphore flags, a vastly outdated way to communicate between units.
From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2023
As Meher Mirza wrote for Saveur, "the word 'curry' is sometimes used in the West as a familiar semaphore, but the term ossifies the immense sophistication and complexity of Indian food."
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2021
The choreography that became associated with it was, by TikTok standards, elementary — a casual semaphore of joy with a mild wiggle of the waist.
From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2020
He’s doing pretend semaphore, waving his arms in ornate patterns as if I’m supposed to understand some kind of secret code.
From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
Today, to help relative newcomers navigate potential April Fool’s foibles, our crack “Now & Then” team shares some quirky codes and stubborn semaphores from “Then” days that persist in the “Now.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 30, 2023
It undermines the piety and ethical lapses in nonfiction mystery shows, while sharing with “Three Billboards” a belief in semaphores and that people aren’t any one thing.
From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2018
But he can slay without words: His eyebrows are semaphores, his left hand a weapon that can dismiss a subject with a quiver.
From Washington Post ● May 24, 2016
The kids on Bandstand mimicked its manual semaphores and danced to its perky rhythm, eerily similar to Bo Diddley’s signature chugging backbeat.
From Time ● Jan. 19, 2012
Sends and receives messages by means of semaphores and other visual signals.
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
The start of today’s race has been semaphored and a group of six riders have attacked off the front of the bunch.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 11, 2019
With these ones ripped up and destroyed, and made into something else entirely, they perhaps semaphored a new era.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 9, 2014
Elsewhere in the opening episode nothing happened that wasn't first semaphored in the previous scene.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 27, 2011
As her advisers and courtiers semaphored behind her to wave off the truth, antiroyalist Hytner smiled sweetly and said, "It's hereditary."
From Time Magazine Archive
The seaman semaphored a reply, which was evidently satisfactory, for, rubbing his hands gleefully, the Lieutenant-Commander followed his guests down the narrow hatchway.
From The Fight for Constantinople A Story of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman
She’s waving from the other bank, not semaphoring.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 12, 2017
The further we get from past events the more they seem to be wildly semaphoring messages to us about our news agenda.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 13, 2013
Apple employees may not talk much, but they’ve been semaphoring pretty furiously lately.
From Forbes ● Jul. 8, 2011
In Newmarket, England, a racehorse auctioneer found himself unable to keep up with the spirited semaphoring of the bidders, finally suspended the auction, then learned that his patrons were swatting at a swarm of gnats.
From Time Magazine Archive
I half expected to see the few remaining insects circling him and semaphoring their romantic intentions.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
