signal Hear it!

signal definition

sig·nal (signəl)

noun

  1. Now Rare a token or indication
  2. a sign or event fixed or understood as the occasion for prearranged combined action a bugle signal to attack
  3. anything which occasions a certain action or response
    1. a sign given by gesture, flashing light, etc. to convey a command, direction, warning, etc.
    2. an object or device, as a red flag, flashing light, etc., providing such a sign
  4. in some card games, a bid or play designed to guide one's partner
  5. in telegraphy, radio, television, etc., the electrical impulses, sound or picture elements, etc. transmitted or received
  6. Football code words, numbers, etc. called out, esp. by the quarterback, to indicate which play or defense to use next

Etymology: OFr < VL signale < neut. of LL signalis < L signum, a sign

adjective

  1. not average or ordinary; remarkable; notable
  2. used as a signal or in signaling

transitive verb signaled -·naled or signalled -·nalled, signaling -·nal·ing or signalling -·nal·ling

  1. to make a signal or signals to
  2. to make known or communicate (information) by signals

intransitive verb

to make a signal or signals

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:
signal Synonyms

signal

n.

beacon, flag, omen; see sign 1.


signal

v.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

signal Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • transmit: The system transmits the sound signal to the person's hearing aid.

Adjective modifier

  • electrical: These fibers pass the electrical signals along to our brain where they are processed into the image we are looking at.

Modifies a noun

  • transduction: For a long time now I have been interested in the way signal transduction pathways process information during cell interactions.

Noun used with modifier

  • analog: I have heard of a people also feeding the analog signal to a suitable input on ( selected!

Preposition: from

  • transmitter: I have read on some posts that it may have something to do with MCE getting confused with signals from transmitters and the EPG.
signal usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

signal quotes

Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.

-Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth

You know,Foley,I have onlyone eyeöI have a right to be blind sometimes† I really do not see the signal.

-Nelson, Horatio,Viscount Nelson

signal quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"signal." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/signal>

APA Style

signal. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/signal

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