Skip to main content
sign

sign

2 7.2
A basic unit that links a form to a meaning in language
  • noun
  • /saɪn/
  • Specialized
: signo
  • Here we know we can identify every sign, right?
  • a sign system
  • linguistic sign
  • arbitrary sign

But it's I rather you learn how to do that than to rely on the interpreting of signs where it can get really messy.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Take this walkway, then you'll go through the building... and you'll see signs for the main hospital on the other side.

  • Names are supposed to be signs for things.

  • The circle is the sign of magic and power.

  • I'm going to make a sign, and any good or any evil that is inside you will be in this egg.

  • I could not read this body, this sign of bone, flesh, and hair.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Lily of the valley is considered a sign of Christ's second coming.

    Academic text (2017)
  • According to the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce, human beings think only in signs.

  • In linguistics, a sign is an essential element that links a word with its meaning.

  • The professor explained that linguistic signs connect sounds to meanings in language.

  • In semiotics, a sign represents the relationship between the form of a word and what it signifies.

Idioms

Officially agree to something by writing your name on a document

Compounds

61 1.0

A road sign that tells drivers to stop completely before going

59 1.6

Something that shows there may be danger or a problem

vital sign
  • Specialized
37 2.4

Measurements like heart rate or blood pressure that show how well the body is working

36 2.8

A language using hand signs and face movements to communicate, often used by people who are deaf

18 1.0

A sign beside a road that shows its name, directions, or rules

16 3.0

A form where people write their names to join an activity

16 1.3

An obvious thing that shows something is true

14 4.6

Something that shows how people live or think now

12 3.5

Relating to joining something, used before a noun

9 1.3

A symbol written before a number to show dollars

8 4.5

A sign that someone cares more about money than other things

8 2.9

A circle with three lines that people use to show a wish for no war

A short Christian gesture moving the hand to trace a cross to show faith

sign-off
  • Formal
7 4.2

Final approval that allows a document or project to finish

plus sign
  • Specialized
4 1.5

A mark + used to show adding numbers or something extra

A language of hand signs and body movements used by deaf people in the United States and parts of Canada

3 2.5

The act of giving your name and details to join something

3 7.8

A quiet signal to warn, greet, or recognize someone

A small action that shows you love or like someone

3 3.4

One of twelve parts in astrology that shows where the sun was when you were born

2 3.6

A measure that shows how well a system or business is doing

One of twelve parts of the sky used in astrology to show personality and give horoscopes

pound sign
  • Texting
2 2.7

A symbol # used to mark numbers or make tags on social media

minus sign
  • Specialized
1 2.1

A small horizontal line used to show subtraction or a negative number

equal sign
  • Specialized
1 1.0

The symbol '=' shows two values are the same

1 3.7

A person who makes signs and billboards by hand

1 2.7

A gesture made by holding up the index and middle fingers in a V shape to show victory or peace

Indian sign
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A sign people believe shows what will happen or what to do

A sign by the road that shows drivers where places are

Kernig's sign
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A sign when the knee cannot fully straighten with the thigh bent, showing a possible brain infection

1 4.0

A final message or tune played when a broadcast ends

1 1.0

A symbol you put after a number to show parts out of 100

1 2.2

A small + symbol in apps used to add or create a new item

times sign
  • Specialized
1 2.3

A symbol × used to show multiplication between numbers

1 7.6

A thing that shows land is near, like birds or distant clouds

multiplication sign
  • Specialized
1 2.5

A symbol that shows one number times another, usually ×

1 3.3

A symbol £ used to show British money on prices

Companies that design, make, and install signs like shop or road signs

A symbol % that shows a number out of 100

Babinski sign
  • Specialized
1 7.9

A big toe moving upward when the sole is stroked, normal in babies but showing nerve damage in adults

hard sign
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A Cyrillic letter that makes the consonant before it sound hard

1 9.9

The written name of a king or queen on an official document showing personal approval

A sign with red and white stripes that shows a place where people get haircuts

9.9

A purplish colour of the lining of the vagina that appears in early pregnancy

radical sign
  • Specialized
5.3

A symbol √ that shows the square root of a number

Raynaud's sign
  • Specialized
9.1

Blue colour of fingers and toes when tiny blood vessels tighten from cold or stress

soft sign
  • Specialized
9.9

A Cyrillic letter that makes the consonant before it sound with the tongue near the roof of the mouth

How Symbolic

symbol
586 3.5
sign
  • Specialized
2 7.2
semeion
  • Archaic
1 9.9
emblem
39 4.0
token
77 3.8
mark
473 1.0

Surface Forms

sign singular
signs plural

Etymology

The word sign comes from the Latin signum, meaning 'mark'. In language theory a sign links a sound or form to an idea, like a 'mark' that joins what we say with what we mean.