[count] 1 : a piece of paper, wood, etc., with words or pictures on it that gives information about something
▪ The sign in the store window says “OPEN.” ▪ After you get off the highway, follow the signs for Route 25. ▪ road/street/traffic signs ▪ He ran the stop sign. ▪ There was a “For Sale” sign on the car. 2 : something (such as an action or event) which shows that something else exists, is true, or will happen
▪ All the signs point to him as the guilty party. ▪ She ignored me, which was a sure sign that she was mad at me. ▪ “The company called me in for a second interview.” “That's a good sign.” ▪ It was a bad sign that he couldn't walk on the injured leg. ▪ There are plenty of warning signs that the company is in danger of bankruptcy. — often + of ▪ Chest pain could be a sign of a heart attack. ▪ We remained alert for any signs of danger. ▪ the telltale signs of the disease ▪ the first signs of spring ▪ The bartender called the police at the first sign of trouble. [=as soon as there was trouble] ▪ The runner showed signs of fatigue. [=appeared to be tired] ▪ His writing is showing signs of improvement. [=appears to be improving] ▪ He showed no sign of remorse. ▪ The planet showed no signs of life. [=there was no evidence of living things on the planet] — see also vital signs 3 : a motion, action, or movement that you use to express a thought, command, or wish
▪ They bowed before the king as a sign of respect. ▪ The teacher made a sign for the students to be quiet. ▪ a picture of the president giving the thumbs-up sign — see also sign of the cross 4 : any one of the hand movements that are used in sign language — often + for ▪ Do you know the sign for “thank you”? ▪ the sign for the letter B 5 : a symbol that is used to represent something especially in mathematics
▪ The symbol ÷ is the sign for division. — see also call sign, division sign, dollar sign, minus sign, multiplication sign, plus sign 6 : star sign
▪ What's your sign?