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sign meaning

EN[saɪn] [-aɪn]
US
WSign
  • A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else.
  • The philosophical study of signs and symbols is called semiotics; this includes the study of semiosis, which is the way in which signs (in the semiotic sense) operate.
sign
sign

    Definition of sign in English Dictionary

  • NounPLsigns
    1. (sometimes also used uncountably) A visible indication.
      1. Their angry expressions were a clear sign they didn't want to talk. ‎
      2. Those clouds show signs of raining soon. ‎
      3. Those clouds show little sign of raining soon. ‎
      4. Signs of disease are objective, whereas symptoms are subjective. ‎
      5. The hunters found deer sign at the end of the trail. ‎
    2. A clearly visible object, generally flat, bearing a short message in words or pictures.
      1. The sign in the window advertised a room for rent. ‎
    3. A traffic sign.
      1. I missed the sign at the corner so I took the wrong turn. ‎
    4. A meaningful gesture.
      1. I gave them a thumbs-up sign. ‎
    5. Any of several specialized non-alphabetic symbols.
      1. The sharp sign indicates that the pitch of the note is raised a half step. ‎
    6. (astrology) An astrological sign.
      1. Your sign is Taurus? That's no surprise. ‎
    7. (mathematics) Positive or negative polarity.
      1. I got the magnitude right, but the sign was wrong. ‎
    8. A specific gesture or motion used to communicate by those with speaking or hearing difficulties; now specifically, a linguistic unit in sign language equivalent to word in spoken languages.
      1. (uncountable) Sign language in general.
        1. Sorry, I don't know sign very well. ‎
      2. An omen.
        1. "It's a sign of the end of the world," the doom prophet said. ‎
      3. (medicine) A property of the body that indicates a disease and, unlike a symptom, is unlikely to be noticed by the patient.
        1. A military emblem carried on a banner or standard.
        2. VerbSGsignsPRsigningPT, PPsigned
          1. To make a mark.
            1. The Queen signed her letter with the regal signet.
            2. Meantime revolving in his thoughtful mind / The scar, with which his manly knee was sign'd […].
            3. Enquire the Iewes house out, giue him this deed, / And let him signe it […].
            4. I forgot to sign that letter to my aunt.
            5. Just sign your name at the bottom there.
            6. I received a letter from some woman who signs herself ‘Mrs Trellis’.
            7. Please sign on the dotted line.
            8. Agents say Wales back Gavin Henson has signed for Cardiff Blues.
            9. It was a great month. I managed to sign three major players.
          2. To make the sign of the cross.
            1. We receive this child into the congregation of Christ's flock, and do sign him with the sign of the cross.
            2. Shaking a fist at him with one fierce arm, / Signing himself with the other because of Christ.
          3. To indicate.
            1. I signed to Browne to make his retreat.
            2. He signed me that I should follow him through the doorway.
        3. More Examples
          1. Used in the Middle of Sentence
            • "I worry sometimes," says Lyn, the overtherapized feminist in Lily Tomlin's The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe.
            • In addition, excessive accumulation of complement proteins is the major cause of drusens, whose deposition in the eye is an early sign of age-related macular degeration (AMD) [46 ].
            • They first calculated the fractal dimension containing ductal lumens and then they analyzed the fractal details of the ductal network in galactograms to detect early signs of cancerous tissues.
          2. Used in the Beginning of Sentence
            • Signs of such conflicts could be seen in the protest against numeri clausi at universities
          3. Used in the Ending of Sentence
            • Two patients presented with occipitalgia, two patients presented with torticollis and three patients developed neurologic signs.
        • Part-of-Speech Hierarchy
          1. Nouns
            • Countable nouns
              • Singularia tantum
                • Uncountable nouns
              • Verbs
                • Intransitive verbs
                  • Transitive verbs
                Related Links:
                1. en signs
                2. en signal
                3. fr signal
                4. en signed
                5. en significance
                Source: Wiktionary

                Meaning of sign for the defined word.

                Grammatically, this word "sign" is a noun, more specifically, a countable noun and a singularia tantum. It's also a verb, more specifically, an intransitive verb and a transitive verb.
                Difficultness: Level 1
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                Easy     ➨     Difficult
                Definiteness: Level 9
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                Definite    ➨     Versatile