sign language

Save This Word!

See synonyms for sign language on Thesaurus.com

noun

Also called sign. any of several visual-gestural systems of communication, especially employing manual gestures, as used among deaf people.

any means of communication, as between speakers of different languages, using gestures.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of sign language

First recorded in 1840–50

Words nearby sign language

signify, signifying, sign-in, signing, signiory, sign language, sign manual, sign of aggregation, sign-off, sign of the cross, sign of the times

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sign language in a sentence

If you’re looking to learn sign language for a loved one or simply looking to learn a new skill that sets you apart, then this bundle may be for you.
Save over $200 on this expert-led training on American Sign Language|Stack Commerce|September 30, 2021|Popular-Science
Instead, she brought her client and a sign language interpreter to the hiring site and persuaded representatives there to interview him in person.
Disability rights advocates are worried about discrimination in AI hiring tools|Sheridan Wall, Hilke Schellmann|July 21, 2021|MIT Technology Review
For the hard-of-hearing, the absence of in-person meetings and conversations has been felt perhaps even more keenly as they’ve struggled to lip read, use sign language, access interpreters in time for video meetings.
‘Second-class citizens:’ Hard-of-hearing employees frustrated by lack of accessibility in remote and hybrid working|Jessica Davies|July 14, 2021|Digiday
Madou, who is deaf, expressed concerns over the prospect of going to court during a pandemic, and she also said that she was unsure whether the court would provide her with a sign language interpreter.
The Pandemic Hasn’t Stopped This School District From Suing Parents Over Unpaid Textbook Fees|by Ellis Simani, ProPublica, and Kim Kilbride, South Bend Tribune|December 12, 2020|ProPublica

Her mom and dad have to translate what she says when there isn’t someone else who speaks sign language.
Arizona Promised to Help People With Developmental Disabilities. But Some Had to Wait a Long Time. Some Did Not Get Help at All.|by Amy Silverman for Arizona Daily Star, with data analysis by Alex Devoid, Arizona Daily Star|November 5, 2020|ProPublica
Hearing people used sign language even when there was no deaf person present.
Living With Disability in the Dark Ages|Elizabeth Picciuto|July 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The town developed a sign language that everyone in the town used, deaf or not.
Living With Disability in the Dark Ages|Elizabeth Picciuto|July 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And they definitely did not know sign language, at least not well.
The Most ‘WTF’ Oscar Moments Ever: Rob Lowe’s Duet with Snow White, Sacheen Littlefeather, and the Streaker|Kevin Fallon, Marlow Stern|February 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I'd teach some of my hearing friends sign language, which they picked up quickly.
This Is What It Is Like To Be Deaf From Birth|Quora Contributor|December 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
South African sign language covers all of the country's 11 official languages.
Nelson Mandela Memorial Interpreter Was a Fake|The Telegraph|December 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
School exercises in language composition are given with great success upon the basis of the sign-language.
Scientific American Supplement, Vol. XXI., No. 531, March 6, 1886|Various
It is only when the sign-language is abused that its merit as a means of instruction degenerates.
Scientific American Supplement, Vol. XXI., No. 531, March 6, 1886|Various
So Scouts will not find it hard to pick up the sign language; the motions represent the thing itself.
Pluck on the Long Trail|Edwin L. Sabin
I faltered with visions of my evenings spent in expressing myself in the sign language.
Wisconsin in Story and Song;|Various
As Louis knew only four or five words of Dakota, communication had to be carried on principally in sign language.
South from Hudson Bay|E. C. [Ethel Claire] Brill

British Dictionary definitions for sign language

sign language

noun

another word for signing

any system of communication by manual signs or gestures

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

sign language

Origin of sign language

Words nearby sign language

Words related to sign language

How to use sign language in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sign language