sign-off
noun
the act or fact of signing off.
sign-off
American
[sahyn-awf, -of]
/ ˈsaɪnˌɔf, -ˌɒf /
Or
signoff
noun
-
the act or fact of signing off.
-
personal approval or authorization; endorsement.
sign off
British
verb
-
(intr) to announce the end of a radio or television programme, esp at the end of a day
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(intr) bridge to make a conventional bid indicating to one's partner that one wishes the bidding to stop
-
(tr) to withdraw or retire from (an activity)
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(tr) (of a doctor) to declare (someone) unfit for work, because of illness
-
(intr) to terminate one's claim to unemployment benefit
sign off
Idioms
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Announce the end of a communication, especially a broadcast. For example, There's no one there now; the station has signed off for the night . [c. 1920]
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Stop talking, become silent, as in Every time the subject of marriage came up, Harold signed off . [ Colloquial ; mid-1900s]
-
Express approval formally or conclusively, as in The President got the majority leader to sign off on the tax proposal . This usage is colloquial.
Etymology
Origin of sign-off
First recorded in 1925–30; noun use of verb phrase sign off
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:
It allows the Southern Ute Indian Tribe of southwestern Colorado to approve its own energy-related leases, rights of way and business agreements without federal sign-off.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The final decision on his appointment still requires the normal pre-employment checks and sign-off from full council, which is due to meet next week.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
The company is pursuing a $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. that requires sign-off from Trump’s own Justice Department.
From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026
US sources had told AFP the deal was waiting on Trump's sign-off, but the president had made no decision after a two-hour meeting in the White House Situation Room on Friday in Washington.
From Barron's ● May 30, 2026
Her sign-off was “Join me next week, because y’all know life can get messy.”
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
After sign off from Prime Minister Andy Burnham's de facto deputy Louise Haigh, the alert was sent at 19:00 on 14 August.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
Asked by reporters if he would sign off on the opposition's bill, Premier Cho Jung-tai, who heads the Cabinet, said his focus was on national security.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Under a 2019 law brought by Newsom to protect utilities from bankruptcy, the companies automatically are deemed to have acted prudently if regulators sign off on their wildfire prevention plan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
It may be that both trustees have to sign off on certain decisions.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
The courts had to sign off before Ridgeway was permitted to take his charges south.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
