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sign

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A mark or another symbol used to represent something.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

syn
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈsaɪn

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. countableuncountable

    A visible fact that shows that something exists or may happen.

  2. A mark or another symbol used to represent something.

  3. A specific gesture or motion used to communicate by those with speaking or hearing difficulties; now specifically, a linguistic unit in sign language equivalent to word in spoken languages.

  4. A clearly visible object, generally flat, bearing a short message in words or pictures.

  5. An omen.

  6. CanadaUSAustraliauncountable

    Physical evidence left by an animal.

verb

  1. transitive

    More generally, to write one's signature on (something) as a means of identification etc.

  2. transitive

    To communicate or make known (a meaning, intention, etc.) by a sign.

  3. To indicate

  4. transitive

    To engage (a sports player, musician etc.) in a contract.

  5. intransitive

    To finalise a contractual agreement to work for a given sports team, record label etc.

  6. Make the sign of the cross over someone in order to call on God for protection; consecrate

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A mark or another symbol used to represent something.

Used this way, sign is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use sign

  • “He posted signs in all the shop windows.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

sign languageminus signplus signfirst signgood signsure signnegative sign

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • signedadjectiveInflected form

    Having a handwritten signature.

  • signingnounInflected form

    Language expressed by visible hand gestures.

  • signernounInflected form

    Someone who can use sign language to communicate.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • signalnounDerived noun

    Any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • sign upverbCompound term

    Engage by written agreement.

  • sign painternounCompound term

    Someone who paints signs and billboards etc.

  • sign oververbCompound term

    Formally assign ownership of.

  • sign onverbCompound term

    Engage by written agreement.

  • sign offverbCompound term

    Cease broadcasting.

  • sign of the zodiacnounCompound term

    One of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • signagenounRelated term

    Signs collectively (especially commercial signs or posters).

  • signatorynounRelated term

    Someone who signs and is bound by a document.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

noun

Sense: visible fact that shows that something exists

mark

verb

Sense: more generally

subscribemark

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.