sign-on

American

[sahyn-on, -awn] / ˈsaɪnˌɒn, -ˌɔn /

noun

Radio and Television. the opening salutation, station identification, etc., at the beginning of the broadcast day.
an act or instance of signing on.

sign on British

verb

(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

"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 on Idioms

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]

Etymology

Origin of sign-on

First recorded in 1880–85; noun use of verb phrase sign on

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:

sign-on sign on

In Russia’s Ulan-Ude, high sign-on bonuses and so-called “coffin money”—the payout benefits for fallen soldiers—are fueling an economic boom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

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

"We'd all have to sign-on for a month, though."

From The Adventure Club Afloat by Ralph Henry Barbour

But they both need to sign on for the AGs to unlock the additional money.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Often I’d sign on to read the takes of sharp commenters over the writers who provided the digital parlor.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

This summer, though, with her contract expiring at the end of Chelsea's worst season in seven years, she decided to sign on for another 12 months.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Behind him, a sign on a fence reads "Private Property."

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Maybe I can handle more than two dogs on my own, and this summer, Nora and I can sign on even more clients.

From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023