signing

Pluralsignings

1. 1
   nouncountable

   An event, usually held at a bookstore, where an author autographs copies of a book for readers and fans.

   The publisher arranged a signing at the downtown bookstore to launch her memoir.

   After the reading, the author moved to a side table for the signing.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   The act of completing a contract, especially when an athlete or entertainer commits to a company or team.

   The signing of the veteran quarterback strengthened the team's offense.

   Fans cheered the signing that brought the star forward to their club.

   Similaracquisition, recruitment, deal

   Oppositerelease

3. 3
   noununcountable

   The use of a sign language to communicate, or a person's skill in using one.

   Years of practice made her signing fluent and expressive.

   The interpreter's signing kept pace with the rapid speech.

4. 4
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of sign.

   He is signing copies of his book at the table.

   The lawyer is signing the documents before the deadline.

   Note

   The verb form keeps its object directly, as in signing the lease or signing autographs, or it can stand without one, as in she was busy signing. Add the and of and the same spelling becomes a noun: the signing of the treaty. That step leads to the contract-sealing noun and the bookstore event. As a noun it can take a plural, signings; as a participle it cannot.

5. 5
   nouncountable

   A player who has been recruited by a sports team or organization through a contract.

   The team's summer signing has already become a fan favorite.

   Their record signing struggled to adjust during the first season.

   Similarrecruit, acquisition, addition, newcomer

   Note

   Here the player stands in for the deal. What began as the act of concluding a contract has stretched to name the person that contract brings in. It behaves as an ordinary count noun, usually with a word fixing when or how the player arrived: Tom Rostance's 2011 BBC Sport report on Arsenal credits its goals to "summer signings," and a club's most expensive arrival is its record signing.

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