Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
V sign

V sign

1 2.7
A gesture made by holding up the index and middle fingers in a V shape to show victory or peace
  • noun
  • /vi saɪn/
translation icon : señal de V
  • Some of the protesters made V signs with their fingers as the car passed.
  • making a V sign
  • fingers making the V sign

Examples

  • For example, the V sign (with the two fingers and the palm facing out) in the United States means victory; however, this same gesture in Australia, New Zealand, and Great Britain has an insulting and offensive interpretation.

    Academic text (2013)

  • He laughed and made a V sign at the back of his head.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Africa's horn rests in the fingers of a hand raised to give the "V" sign, simultaneously indicating victory and peace.

    Academic text (1994)

  • The crowd cheered and held up V signs to celebrate their team's victory.

  • He raised his fingers in a V sign, symbolizing peace and hope during the protest.

  • After winning the match, she took a photo making a V sign with a big smile on her face.

Surface Forms

V sign singular
V signs plural

Morphology

V + sign

The meaning 'a hand gesture forming a V shape' is directly derivable from combining 'V' (the letter/shape) with 'sign' (a gesture or signal). This compositional pattern — a sign shaped like a letter indicating victory/peace — is transparent and cross-linguistically recognizable, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE.

Etymology

V sign comes from holding the index and middle fingers apart to make the letter V; during World War II people used it to show 'victory', and later anti-war protesters used the same simple sign to mean 'peace', so today the gesture can stand for either 'victory' or 'peace'.