signpost
Americannoun
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a post bearing a sign that shows the way, as at a roadside
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something that serves as a clue or indication; sign
verb
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to mark with signposts
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to indicate direction towards
the camp site is signposted from the road
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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signpostsimple
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signpostssimple
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have signpostedperfect
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has signpostedperfect
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am signpostingprogressive
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are signpostingprogressive
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is signpostingprogressive
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have been signpostingperfect progressive
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has been signpostingperfect progressive
Past
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signpostedsimple
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had signpostedperfect
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was signpostingprogressive
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were signpostingprogressive
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had been signpostingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of signpost
Explanation
A signpost is a raised marker on the side of a road that provides some kind of information — like how many miles you have to travel to a landmark (like the golden arches of McDonald's). A signpost can mark a historical site, a business, or the distance to a city. Smaller roads that meet at an intersection or crossroads often have a signpost marked with arrows and town names, making it clear which direction you should go. Sometimes signpost is used figuratively, to mean an indicator or hint: "The mayor's vote to fund a new school acted as a signpost to her feelings about education in general."
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:
What I was thinking, in fact, was that I was quite underwhelmed by the faded red curbs as a signpost for progress.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026
Michael O’Leary was holding court in a small conference room in front of a giant image of him conking Elon Musk over the head with an “I heart Ryanair” signpost.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2026
To mark the 14th anniversary of his death, Everton have installed a 'talking bench' on the fan plaza as a way to "encourage conversation, tackle loneliness and isolation, and signpost people to mental health support".
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2025
For investors, the key signpost is whether Trump and Xi meet later this month at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Seoul.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2025
The men reached the house and realized it belonged to Joaquim Antonio—the man whose initials Rondon had found carved on a signpost.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
As the Spurs dethroned the defending champions on their home floor, the 22-year-old Wembanyama didn’t just match the early-career signposts of the greatest players in NBA history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
Instead of making an argument, an algorithm will narrate its own process, relying on clunky signposts like “this article will explore” or “moreover” and “furthermore.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
At least three signposts matter in determining what happens next.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2025
Absent the usual signposts, Wall Street has had to turn to other indicators such as credit-card spending, corporate earning results and state jobless claims to try to piece together what is going on.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 1, 2025
Like all writing decisions, the amount of signposting requires judgment and compromise: too much, and the reader bogs down in reading the signposts; too little, and she has no idea where she is being led.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
After the tourists put up 416, England were going well at 188-1 before, in their determination to attack, falling one after another into Australia's clearly signposted short-ball plan.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
“All In the Family” signposted its main character’s irascible bigotry and generation-gap grievances in the first minute by having its main character sing wistfully of a time when “Guys like me we had it made.”
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2026
My family were signposted to a charity called the Jennifer Trust, now known as Spinal Muscular Atrophy UK, which helped support me.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026
In areas like Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire, parents are instead given advice in their child's early development checks, or are signposted towards free NHS tests at their local optician.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2025
What I haven’t recognized till now is that the answers are signposted.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
Like Guedez, many residents pushed on with their desperate search despite the signposting.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
And Scottish Labour MSP Paul Sweeney called for better social work and mental health service signposting for the terminally ill.
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026
BMI Research analysts said "given that the global economy is slowing, the group will likely want to maintain their current cuts, while signposting the scope for further reductions, if market conditions demand it."
From Reuters ● Oct. 3, 2023
The plaintiff is a TV writer who says Delta’s “carbon-neutral” signposting misled her and that “she would not have purchased said flights on the same terms had they known those representations were not true.”
From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2023
Like all writing decisions, the amount of signposting requires judgment and compromise: too much, and the reader bogs down in reading the signposts; too little, and she has no idea where she is being led.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
