sign-on

American  

[sahyn-on, -awn] / ˈsaɪnˌɒn, -ˌɔn /

noun

1. Radio and Television. the opening salutation, station identification, etc., at the beginning of the broadcast day.

2. an act or instance of signing on.

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sign on British  

verb

1. (tr) to hire or employ

2. (intr) to commit oneself to a job, activity, etc

3. (intr) to register as unemployed with the Department of Social Security

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sign on Idioms  

1. Enlist oneself as an employee, as in Arthur decided to sign on with the new software company . [Late 1800s]

2. Begin radio or television broadcasting, especially at the beginning of the day, as in What time does the station sign on? [c. 1920]

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Etymology

Origin of sign-on

First recorded in 1880–85; noun use of verb phrase sign on

Example Sentences

Koepka won $34.3 million in prize money during his time at LIV, which is separate from his undisclosed sign-on fee.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 12, 2026

Across the 2023-24 season, Liverpool closed 100,000 fake accounts, and believe new preventative measures including multi-factor authentication, single sign-on and the implementation of more advanced fraud analysis tools, have made a difference.

From BBC • Sep. 25, 2025

During the campaign, almost 10,000 faculty and staff at UC San Diego received four emails at about a weekly interval prompting them to change their single sign-on password.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2024

The high monthly salary and sign-on bonuses will likely entice some Central Asian migrant workers to sign up, British officials said.

From Washington Times • May 8, 2023

The small number can be attributed to the fact that the men, like the assembly, had to sign-on without knowing their destiny.

From The Road to Independence: Virginia 1763-1783 by Virginia. History, Government, and Geography Service

Related Words

• admit
• appoint
• assign
• attract
• call up
• conscript
• employ
• engage
• enroll
• enter
• gather
• hire
• join
• mobilize
• recruit
• serve
• volunteer