distress signal
Use Distress signal in a sentencedistress signal
1870–75
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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| distress signal | |
| —n | |
| a signal by radio, Very light, etc from a ship or other vessel in need of immediate assistance | |
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
distress signal
a method by which a ship at sea can summon assistance. Distress signals are fixed by custom and by internationally agreed-on rules of the road at sea. The most important are: (1) visual signals, such as a flame, a red flare, an orange smoke signal, or a square flag displayed with a ball below; (2) sound signals, such as a gun or rocket fired at regular intervals, or a continuous sounding of a fog-signal apparatus; and (3) radio signals such as the Morse group SOS, the international code signal NC, or the spoken word "Mayday" (from French m'aider, "help me"), by radiotelephone. Distressed vessels may also actuate alarms of other vessels by a radio signal consisting of a series of 12 four-second dashes or by a radiotelephone signal consisting of two tones alternately transmitted for 30 to 60 seconds
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