Radio and Television. the opening salutation, station identification, etc., at the beginning of the broadcast day.
an act or instance of signing on.
(tr) to hire or employ
(intr) to commit oneself to a job, activity, etc
(intr) to register as unemployed with the Department of Social Security
Enlist oneself as an employee, as in Arthur decided to sign on with the new software company . [Late 1800s]
Begin radio or television broadcasting, especially at the beginning of the day, as in What time does the station sign on? [c. 1920]
First recorded in 1880–85; noun use of verb phrase sign on
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
To offset lost compensation from Pfizer, Nike will also pay him a one-time cash sign-on bonus of $7.25 million.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
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
In addition to the flat nationwide sign-on bonus of 195,000 rubles, each Russian region offers its own one-time payment to new recruits, which can be as much as 1 million rubles.
From Seattle Times ● May 6, 2024
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
Other major powers have also refused to sign on to the court, including China, India and Russia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
She must also surrender her passport, adhere to a curfew, provide her phone number to gardaí, and sign on daily at garda station in County Kildare.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
She is expected to sign on with CNN competitor MS NOW, according to people familiar with her plans who were not authorized to comment publicly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
I had a sign on my wall when I was a high school teacher that said, “Read critically, write consciously, speak clearly, tell your truth.”
From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2026
Once we got to Brother's Barbershop and Pet Store, there was a blue and white sign on the door, sorry we're closed.
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
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.
