signals

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of signal.

   Coded signals passed between the two ships throughout the night.

   Weak radio signals from the distant station kept fading in and out.

   Note

   One spelling does two jobs here. As a noun it counts things, and the present-tense verb looks exactly the same. The plural also spans very different worlds: hand signs and warning lights on one side, voltages carrying a radio or TV program on the other. Neighboring words such as coded, radio or warning usually show which kind is meant.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of signal.

   The lighthouse signals approaching vessels with a slow, rotating beam.

   When the referee signals, play resumes immediately.

   Note

   The verb works with or without an object, and the object can be one of two things. In a lighthouse signals ships, the object is the receiver of the message. In a nod signals agreement, the object is the message itself. With no object at all (the referee signals), both are left to context. Asking whether the object is the listener or the content keeps the two readings apart.

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