Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to sign away

to sign away

11 4.8
Give up rights or property by agreeing to it in writing
  • phrasal verb
  • /saɪn əˈweɪ/
translation icon : ceder
  • After all, you just signed away your dental insurance.
  • sign away rights

Examples

  • Are you ready to sign away your freedom on this document?

  • In order for that to happen, we had to sign away all rights.

    Blog text (29)

  • Be smart and never sign away all of your rights

    Blog text (6)

  • The first order of business was for me to sign away my rights of privacy to my medical records.

    Blog text (16)

  • I'd already signed away all my rights.

    Dumb and Dumber To (2014)

  • She'd signed away all her rights to her perfume for only ten percent of the partnership.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Writers must sign away all rights or their book doesn't get published.

    Blog text (12)

  • That's right, they can't get a contract without signing away all rights.

    Blog text (12)

  • The chief has signed away control of the land to the development company.

  • After reviewing the contract, he decided to sign away his rights to the intellectual property.

Synonyms

to hand over
vsto sign away
296 2.8

Give something to someone because you have to

is a formal legal surrender of rights documented in writing rather than physical handing
to pass
vsto sign away
  • Specialized
266 6.8

To give property or rights to another person

emphasizes formal documented surrender rather than a neutral transfer
to relinquish
vsto sign away
  • Formal
69 7.2

To give up control, a right, or something you own

requires a formal legal document transfer rather than mere voluntary giving up
to cede
vsto sign away
  • Formal
39 8.2

To officially give control, ownership or rights to someone else

applies more to personal legal giving up, not political or territorial transfer
to resign
vsto sign away
  • Formal
22 3.7

Give up a right or title to something

involves a formal legal document transfer rather than only giving up by personal act
to sign over
vsto sign away
  • Formal
18 4.9

Give ownership of something to another person by signing papers

focuses on surrendering rights rather than naming the recipient
to deed
vsto sign away
  • Formal
4 6.4

To give property to someone using a signed paper

focuses on giving up rights rather than only the formal document process

Antonyms

to retain
236 3.4

To keep having something such as a job or possession

Surface Forms

sign away infinitive
signed away past
signed away past participle
signing away present participle
signs away third person singular

Morphology

sign + away

The meaning is largely derivable from 'sign' (to affix a signature) plus 'away' (indicating transfer or removal), so a learner can infer that signing causes rights or ownership to be transferred. However, the specific legal sense of formally relinquishing rights by signing is somewhat specialized and relies on knowing the particle-use meaning of 'away' in phrasal/legal contexts, so it is not fully predictable for all B1 learners.

Etymology

Sign away comes from the simple act of writing your name (sign) on an official paper to send something out of your hands (away); by doing that you stop owning it, so the phrase means 'to give up ownership or rights'.