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signal

[sig-nl]

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noun

anything that serves to indicate, warn, direct, command, or the like, as a light, a gesture, an act, etc.: a traffic signal; a signal to leave.

anything agreed upon or understood as the occasion for concerted action.

an act, event, or the like that causes or incites some action: The unjust execution was the signal for revolt.

a token; indication.

Electronics. an electrical quantity or effect, as current, voltage, or electromagnetic waves, that can be varied in such a way as to convey information.

EXPAND

Cards. a play that reveals to one's partner a wish that he or she continue or discontinue the suit led.

COLLAPSE

adjective

serving as a signal; used in signaling: a signal flag.

unusual; notable; outstanding: a signal exploit.

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Signal is always a great word to know.

So is resistor-inductance circuits. Does it mean:

electric circuit comprised by resistor and inductor driven by a voltage source

electric circuit with resistor, inductor, capacitor and ac generator

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

verb (used with object)

to make a signal to.

10.

to communicate or make known by a signal.

verb (used without object)

11.

to make communication by a signal or signals.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English (noun) < Medieval Latin signāle, Late Latin, noun use of neuter of signālis of a sign. See sign, -al², -al¹

Related forms

sig·nal·er; especially British sig·nal·ler, noun

pre·sig·nal, noun, verb (used with object), -naled, -nal·ing or (especially British) -nalled, -nal·ing.

re·sig·nal, verb -naled, -nal·ing or (especially British) -nalled, -nal·ling.

un·sig·naled, adjective

un·sig·nalled, adjective

Can be confused: signal, single.

Synonyms
1, 4. sign. 8. unique, exceptional, remarkable, striking.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To signal

Example Sentences

He let the student have it for not heeding his signal to stop.

What is the best way of sending a strong signal to the boss that he should not be blaming me.

Taking on debt might signal that a company is confident about future profits.

EXPAND

He let the student have it for not heeding his signal to stop.

What is the best way of sending a strong signal to the boss that he should not be blaming me.

Taking on debt might signal that a company is confident about future profits.

Researchers identified genetic activity in spotted catsharks embryos that signal the creation of digits.

Radioactive sulphur signal adds to evidence of catastrophe.

While in groups, animals from birds to mongooses employ a lookout that makes a sound every few seconds to signal that all's well.

Ice cream bars and boat tours signal the height of summer along this boardwalk.

Complexity researchers who study the behavior of stock markets may have identified a signal that precedes crashes.

The desire to read ahead is supposed to signal ambition and achievement.

The strength of the signal might vary with the size and location of the tattoo.

Suggest that, as they read, students look for words that signal comparisons to help them better understand the story.

Rerouting signal from neuron to muscle allows the brain to move deadened limbs.

It's the signal for me and my six crewmates to go to work.

RF input antenna catches it and jammer modifies this signal and lets it go.

To some degree, this is a warm-up question but it also serves to signal the candidate's preparedness to the.

If, in fact, tattoos function as a signal in this way.

The first mortality signal came from the yearling male's radio collar in three weeks: no movement, dead of starvation.

Small sugar fragments can set off a signal cascade that increases inflammation and scar formation.

The day length is steadily increasing, which is the primary signal to seasonal breeders that it is time to seasonally breed.

The case does appear to reduce the amount of radiation your head absorbs, without cutting signal strength.

If you need to get in another lane, and you're having problems, signal to the car next to you by pointing in front.

The vibrations change the electrical properties of the device and this electrical signal is converted into an audio signal.

Eating slowly gives your body a chance to digest properly and signal fullness before you've overeaten.

The receiver has to sort through this mess and figure out which signal to lock on to.

Inside the cochlea, tiny hair cells convert the pulse into an electrical signal to the brain.

The sun has a new spot, and it could signal the long-awaited beginning of the next solar cycle.

Such benefits signal the importance of diversity and maintain universities' ability to recruit from global talent pools.

Fortunately, the past year has seen the publication of a series of results that help to disentangle signal and noise.

Secretly tell each student a pattern to signal with the flashlights:.

The hundreds of volatile compounds that bacterial cultures produce can signal many.

Again, the rumbling timpani signal an approaching tiger.

Boost button increases signal power for maximum connectivity.

Arrangements are made for the public ceremonies that signal the end of the process.

It takes less than a tenth of a second for the signal from a satellite overhead to reach a receiver on the ground.

In the north, satellite collars are typically used because their signal can be picked up even in the dark and during snowstorms.

Each signal cancels out part of the other at the receiving antenna.

The siren was sounded at noon as a daily test as well as to signal the time.

The sequence begins with a microwave signal that triggers a cellphone that unleashes a teddy bear zipline.

Such questions signal to me that candidates have a pretty good idea of what they are getting themselves into.

It could also signal that the subject is more likely to get.

There's even evidence to suggest that elephants might understand the meaning of one shaky signal from another.

Shining yellow light on it yields an inhibitory, negative signal.

They each grabbed the bread with both hands, and at the signal vied to break off the bigger piece.

The disparity had in fact been artificially created by introducing random errors in the public signal.

Technology officials are looking into placing antennas inside academic buildings as a possible way to boost signal strength.

In both cases the actions of other people send a signal that may be useful for others to follow.

Until the new findings were made, the exact nature of that chemical signal remained unknown.

Seeing no oncoming cars, he quickly stuck out his arm as a signal and made an abrupt left onto the cross street.

The bubbles are his signal for the female to surface so he can take a breath.

The watch sends a wireless arming signal to the gun.

Lundgren says requiring applicants to write them does send a signal about the importance of teaching.

In choosing a plumber they generally have to rely on some sort of signal of quality.

Many animals use changing daylight as a signal for when to mate, migrate, or hibernate.

After decades spent searching in vain, many seismologists now doubt whether such a signal even exists.

He rolled into position and gave me the signal to turn on the flashlight.

If there's no natural gas in the air, the signal stays powerful.

Although every component in a proposal carries weight, a few components signal early a manuscript's promise.

The sensors pick up the microwaves with an antenna and convert the signal into electrical energy.

When the mantis hears the bat's ultrasonic cries, the ear sends a signal to the brain via the auditory nerve.

When the bacteria encounter certain chemicals, they light up, creating an electrical signal that the chip can process or amplify.

The key digital signal processor chip is still under development.

Somalia is perhaps the signal example of this ubiquitous fratricidal strife.

The computer responds by sending a radio signal down the needle shaft.

Minutes later, he pauses and shines his headlamp on his fingertip-his signal for the presence of the tiniest creatures.

Anger leads us to fight back or to signal displeasure at the violation of a social agreement.

Or it may judge time based on the amount of energy needed to process a signal.

As it is, a signal transmitted through a network is stronger at its point of origin than incoming signals are.

The direct cause is a chemical distress signal produced in skin that is damaged by another hazard of modern life: eczema.

But a male mammal using a signal to activate a reproductive cycle in a female has never been observed before.

Chemical cues in their tears signal that they are not interested in romantic ac.

The towers record the strength of the signal along with the side of the tower the signal is coming.

If you plan to take the call on your mobile phone, make sure that you are somewhere that you will get a full signal.

Though they claim to want to give peace a chance, a signal to move on the capital could come any day.

Previous research found that the animals lack a key messenger that carries the signal of burning pain through the nervous system.

Chronic pain may be due to an overabundance of a protein, which amplifies the pain signal to the brain.

For re-appointment, all one has to do is do internal review and signal to the candidate that they are on track or not on track.

Such spreads are seen as a signal of risk aversion and may pile more pressure on peripheral countries.

Moller's theory was that these ornaments signal different aspects of the male's quality to a female.

As the nuclei right themselves, they emit a radio signal of their own--call it an echo.

Contemporary changes, too, can signal the real rise and decline of public.

The best signal of a further slowdown to come is the increase in the stock of unsold homes.

There, a small controller box generates a high-frequency signal to try and switch off the pain-causing part of the brain.

Other examples include how firms use dividends to signal profitability to agents in the stock market.

Faculty attendance at the workshops will also send a clear signal that the professors approve of nonacademic careers.

Wealth is unobservable so visible expensive goods acts as a signal you have achieved status to your peers.

Tell students that frog calls generally are a signal of mating, though many frogs call out all throughout the year.

After the pulse is lifted, the atoms realign, emitting a radiofrequency signal.

It seems, therefore, that facial ratio in men is a biologically honest signal of aggressiveness.

The study suggests that the arrival of farming did not signal a broad wave of colonization as some scientists had thought.

It looked highly probable that the pulse was indeed a signal of the hoped-for fission.

Paying off more of the debt ahead of schedule would no doubt send a positive signal to the bond markets.

The signal tells the patrol where to dig if someone ends up under the snow.

Rising retail food prices can sometimes signal general price pressures.

Tell students that frog calls are generally a signal of mating, though many frogs call out throughout the year.

The radiation, he says, is confusing the hormone signal that the trees use to determine which direction to grow.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

signal (ˈsɪɡn^əl)

—n
1.	any sign, gesture, token, etc, that serves to communicate information
2.	anything that acts as an incitement to action: the rise in prices was a signal for rebellion
3.	a. a variable parameter, such as a current or electromagnetic wave, by which information is conveyed through an electronic circuit, communications system, etc
	b. the information so conveyed
	c. (as modifier): signal strength; a signal generator

—*adj*
4.	distinguished or conspicuous
5.	used to give or act as a signal

—vb , -nals, -nalling, -nalled, -nals, -naling, -naled
6.	to communicate (a message, etc) to (a person)

[C16: from Old French seignal, from Medieval Latin signāle, from Latin signum sign]

'signaller

—n

'signaler

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

signal

late 14c., from O.Fr. signal, from M.L. signale "a signal," from L.L. signalis (adj.) "used as a signal, pertaining to a sign," from L. signum "signal, sign." The verb is first recorded 1805, from the noun; earlier verb was signalize (1650s).

EXPAND

signal

"remarkable, striking, notable" 1641, from Fr. signalé, pp. of signaler "to distinguish" (see signal (n.)).

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

signal (sĭg'nəl) Pronunciation Key
A fluctuating quantity or impulse whose variations represent information. The amplitude or frequency of voltage, current, electric field strength, light, and sound can be varied as signals representing information.

FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

SIGNAL definition

language
A synchronous language by Le Guernic et al of INRIA.
["SIGNAL - A Data Flow-Oriented Language for Signal Processing," P. le Guernic, IEEE Trans Acoustics Speech & Signal Proc, ASSP-34(2):362-1986-04-374].
(1996-12-10)

signal definition

operating system
A predefined message sent between two Unix processes or from the kernel to a process. Signals communicate the occurrence of unexpected external events such as the forced termination of a process by the user. Each signal has a unique number associated with it and each process has a signal handler set for each signal. Signals can be sent using the kill system call.
(1996-12-10)

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