signal

Pluralsignals

Formssignals

1. 1
   agreed signnouncountable

   A sign made to give notice of an event, command, or danger, or to mark the start of a coordinated action.

   The general waited for the signal before ordering his troops forward.

   Two short horn blasts served as the signal for all crews to abandon ship.

   UsageOften give a signal, wait for the signal, or the signal to start.

   Similarcue, sign, warning, alarm, go-ahead

   Note

   Milton's Paradise Lost (1667) has a whole company obeying "the wonted signal and superior voice" of its ruler. The word still means a cue that sets people moving together. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • John Milton wrote Paradise Lost, first published in 1667. christs.cam.ac.uk
   • Paradise Lost describes a company obeying its ruler's 'wonted signal and superior voice'; the quoted wording is correct apart from normalized capitalization and punctuation. luminarium.org
2. 2
   radio wavenouncountable

   An electromagnetic action, usually a time-varying voltage, that carries the information of a radio or TV program or a communication with another party.

   The antenna picked up a faint signal from the distant station.

   Engineers boosted the signal so the broadcast reached rural homes.

   UsageYou get, lose or have no signal; often a strong signal or a weak signal.

   Similartransmission, broadcast

   Note

   Engineering's sense is also the one people complain about on their phones. Technically it is usually a voltage that varies with time, carrying a broadcast or a call. In everyday talk it is something you get, lose or fail to get, as when a mobile phone can't get a signal in a railway station. In that phrasing the word slides from a physical quantity toward simple coverage. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • An engineering signal is commonly represented by a voltage varying with time. ni.com
   • Signals can convey broadcast or telephone information. cae.tu.edu.iq
3. 3
   give a signverbtransitive or intransitive

   To communicate something, or to tell someone to do something, by means of a sign, gesture, light, sound, or other signal.

   A flashing light can signal danger to oncoming traffic.

   The committee voted to signal its support for the new policy.

   UsagePast forms signaled or signalled; you signal someone to stop, signal that something is true, or signal for help.

   Similarindicate, show, communicate, convey, signify

4. 4
   traffic lightnouncountable

   A device such as an on-off light or semaphore used to give an indication to another person.

   The railway signal switched to green, allowing the express to proceed.

   The engineer slowed the train as soon as the signal beside the tracks turned from green to red.

   UsageOften a traffic signal, a railway signal, a red signal; a train waits at a signal.

   Similarlight, beacon, semaphore

5. 5
   measured variationnouncountable

   A varying quantity or sequence of states, such as a changing voltage, that represents or carries information, especially in electronics and communications.

   Scientists treated the faint variation in brightness as a signal worth analyzing.

   The sensor turns each change in pressure into a signal the computer can read.

6. 6
   hintnouncountable

   A sign, indication, or action that shows something is the case or is about to happen, or that conveys information about someone's intentions or qualities.

   The sudden drop in sales was an early signal of trouble ahead.

   A change in the birds' behavior can be a signal of approaching bad weather.

   UsageOften a signal of trouble or a signal that something is near; people send signals or mixed signals.

   Note

   Shakespeare's Richard the Third has the weary sun that "gives signal of a goodly day to-morrow", with no article. Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year (1722) finds "not the least signal of the calamity". Modern English prefers the plural with send: Róisín Murphy's "You were sending signals" is the familiar language of hints in love, and of hints misread. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Shakespeare's Richard III contains the quoted wording without an article before signal; Richmond speaks the lines. shakespeare.mit.edu
   • Daniel Defoe wrote A Journal of the Plague Year, first published in 1722. commons.wikimedia.org
   • The quoted phrase occurs in A Journal of the Plague Year. gutenberg.org
   • The quoted lyric is attributed to Róisín Murphy's song Hurtz So Bad. en.wiktionary.org
7. 7
   cell messagenouncountable

   A signaling interaction between cells, by which one cell conveys information to another.

   A hormone acts as a signal that prompts nearby cells to respond.

   Researchers traced the signal that triggers the immune cells to attack.

   Note

   Biochemistry uses the word for messages that pass from one cell to another. These are typically carried by chemical messengers that bind receptors and change how the target cell behaves. A hormone is the familiar case. Researchers speak of a signal that triggers, prompts or activates a response, and of the cells that send or receive it. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Cells communicate by sending signals to other cells. genome.gov
   • Chemical signaling molecules bind receptors and produce responses in target cells. openstax.org
   • Hormones are chemical messengers. medlineplus.gov
8. 8
   meaningful datanouncountable or uncountable

   Useful or meaningful information, in contrast to noise or random interference.

   Analysts struggled to separate the signal from the noise in the survey data.

   Most forum chatter is noise; the real signal comes from a few experienced users.

   UsageUsually set against noise: separate the signal from the noise.

   Oppositenoise

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