signifier
Americannoun
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a person or thing that signifies.
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Semiotics. something, such as an arrangement of sounds or symbols, an object, or an action, which constitutes a pattern or unit, and which communicates meaning.
Etymology
Origin of signifier
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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.
For white authors and readers, Morrison argued, blackness has been more metaphoric than real, a signifier of certain behavioral expectations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
A statement from trust said it had already implemented a programme of "signifier change".
From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2026
Whole Foods replaced Mrs. Gooch’s, but after being deracinated by Amazon, it became passé, less and less a signifier of status.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2024
It’s a signifier to the elite press that might raise the objections after reading the Boston Globe column by Ellis saying, you know, I’m a little biased here, this is a little crazy.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2024
With every step on those cracked sidewalks, I passed a new signifier of urban decay.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
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.
