signal
Americannoun
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signals
plural
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anything that serves to indicate, warn, direct, command, or the like, such as a light, a gesture, an act, etc.: a signal to leave.
a traffic signal;
a signal to leave.
- Synonyms:
- sign
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anything agreed upon or understood as the occasion for concerted action.
-
an act, event, or the like that causes or incites some action.
The unjust execution was the signal for revolt.
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a token; indication.
- Synonyms:
- sign
-
Electronics. an electrical quantity or effect, as current, voltage, or electromagnetic waves, that can be varied in such a way as to convey information.
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Cards. a play that reveals to one's partner a wish that they continue or discontinue the suit led.
adjective
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serving as a token or indication; used in communiating an intention, warning, or command.
a signal flag.
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unusual; notable; outstanding.
a signal exploit.
- Synonyms:
- striking, remarkable, exceptional, unique
verb (used with object)
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signals,
present (3rd person singular)
-
signaled,
past participle, past
-
signalled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
signaling,
present participle
-
signalling
present participle (especially British)
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to make a token or indication to.
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to communicate or make known by a token or indication.
verb (used without object)
-
signals,
present (3rd person singular)
-
signaled,
past participle, past
-
signalled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
signaling,
present participle
-
signalling
present participle (especially British)
noun
-
any sign, gesture, token, etc, that serves to communicate information
-
anything that acts as an incitement to action
the rise in prices was a signal for rebellion
-
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a variable parameter, such as a current or electromagnetic wave, by which information is conveyed through an electronic circuit, communications system, etc
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the information so conveyed
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( as modifier )
signal strength
a signal generator
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adjective
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distinguished or conspicuous
-
used to give or act as a signal
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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presignalnoun
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signalernoun
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signallernoun
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resignalverb
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unsignaledadjective
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unsignalledadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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signalsimple
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signalssimple
-
have signaledperfect
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have signalledperfect
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has signaledperfect
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has signalledperfect
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am signalingprogressive
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am signallingprogressive
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are signalingprogressive
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are signallingprogressive
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is signalingprogressive
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is signallingprogressive
-
have been signalingperfect progressive
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have been signallingperfect progressive
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has been signalingperfect progressive
-
has been signallingperfect progressive
Past
-
signaledsimple
-
signalledsimple
-
had signaledperfect
-
had signalledperfect
-
was signalingprogressive
-
was signallingprogressive
-
were signalingprogressive
-
were signallingprogressive
-
had been signalingperfect progressive
-
had been signallingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of signal
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun from Old French seignal, signal, from Medieval Latin signāle, Late Latin, noun use of neuter of signālis “of a sign”; see sign, -al 2, -al 1
Explanation
A signal is a gesture or message that people use to communicate with each other. The wave you give a good friend to call her over from across the room and the impulse that transmits your voice through the telephone to your mother are both signals. In the course of a single day, you probably send and receive thousands of different signals. When you want to cross the street, you wait for the green light — a signal that it's safe to cross. If you're in a relationship and you're not sure whether you like the person you're dating, you could be sending mixed signals — first acting like you're interested, and then acting uninterested. If your date finally gets tired of your mixed signals while you're at a restaurant, you'll need to signal to your server that it's time for the check.
Vocabulary lists containing signal
Baseball: A Lexicon
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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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:
They did not signal a clear outcome but most of them sounded as though they leaned toward saying that federal law governs such far-reaching damage claims.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Antidrone defenses have jammed the GPS signal on his watch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
"No matter what technique we used, it was coming back to this younger signal," said lead author Elizabeth Catlos, associate professor at UT's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026
“August did not signal a labor-market reacceleration,” said chief economist Greg Daco of EY Parthenon, “and September does not signal labor-market deterioration.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026
The KGB did not know the true meaning of the signal.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Investors will also keep a close watch on commentary from Fed officials, with markets looking for any new signals on the interest-rate outlook, UOB says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Those calculations were critical for interpreting the complex X-ray signals and uncovering the underlying behavior of the electrons and protons.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
These rare signals carry clues to where the neutrinos came from and the extreme conditions that produced them — allowing scientists to investigate places that ordinary telescopes cannot easily see.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
The weapon dropped to the ground under the signals onslaught unleashed from his vehicle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
If Akira kept her blinders on, if she ignored Dodger and pushed on despite his signals, she would be as bad as her dad.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
The statement from the U.A.E.’s attorney general, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, signaled that the co-pilot likely didn’t need to smuggle a weapon on board Wednesday’s Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
It signaled a decades-long worsening of the city’s infrastructure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
If even a government-sponsored enterprise couldn’t do it, that signaled it would be difficult for almost any financial-services company to raise fresh common equity to restore its capital cushion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
But LA28’s leaders have repeatedly signaled that they have more than enough responsibilities — including preparing more than two dozen venues in Southern California and an athletes’ Olympic Village at UCLA.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Vonetta added up our deposits on her savings chart and signaled for Fern to stop shaking the jar.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Around 20 minutes after these codes were signalled, the plane looped back into Saudi Arabia, where it later started its manual descent for landing.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Two hours later, the 17,000ft drop in altitude was reported on the plane tracking website Flightradar24 and minutes later the plane signalled an emergency code.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
City have repeatedly denied guilt and signalled an intent to lodge an appeal by the end of this week.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Berthon, France's top domestic spy, made a rare appearance at a business forum in August, saying the Leipzig incident signalled French companies could also be targeted.
From Barron's
“He is in!” she signalled to Michael with a look.
From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers
Fed officials have long fretted that signaling their next move can trap them into a course they might later decide isn’t warranted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
People taking vitamin C showed changes in inflammatory signaling that align with better outcomes.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026
These included immune and inflammatory signaling, mitochondrial energy production, metabolic regulation, stress-response mechanisms, and neuroendocrine signaling.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
“On the plus side, the world’s most valuable company is signaling confidence in its future cash flows. On the downside, its clients cannot express similar faith.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
Nägeli replied two months later—already signaling distance with his tardiness—sending a courteous but icy note.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
On Wednesday, signalling the end of the mission, the MoD paid tribute to UK personnel who had contributed to the counter-IS mission.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Munira Mustaffa, a Malaysia-based counterterrorism and extremism expert, said they were "frustrated signalling" by insurgents intended to "get the government to return to the table".
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
"As Bessent himself confirmed, the move is mainly a signalling mechanism, with the Treasury showing it is prepared to step in with yields near current levels," said economists at Capital Economics.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
“The threat is not limited to superficial damage or coercive signalling but now carries a direct and substantial risk to seafarers,” said Dimitris Maniatis, Marisks’s founder and chief executive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
With her right hand raised overhead, she was frantically signalling to someone—her child, perhaps, or her husband, or possibly the viewer—to drop everything and hurry over.
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
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.
