signpost
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A post bearing a sign that gives directions or shows the way.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
synpohstSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsaɪnpoʊst
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A post bearing a sign that gives directions or shows the way
verb
To indicate logical progress of a discourse using words or phrases such as now, right, to recap, to sum up, as I was saying, etc.
transitive
To direct (somebody) to services, resources, etc.
transitive
To install signposts on.
Mark with a signpost, as of a path
To signal, as if with a signpost.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A post bearing a sign that gives directions or shows the way
Used this way, signpost 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.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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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.