- signal
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 sign/action/sound that sends a messageADJECTIVE▪ clear, unmistakable▪ agreed, prearranged▪ conflicting, confusing, contradictory, mixed▪ wrong▪
Laughing when you should be crying sends out the wrong signals to people.
▪ alarm, danger, distress, warning▪ hand, non-verbal, smoke, visual▪ turn (AmE)▪ busy (AmE) (engaged tone in BrE)▪All I get is a busy signal when I dial his number.
▪ buy, sell (both business)▪A strong buy signal was issued to traders.
VERB + SIGNAL▪ give (sb), make, send, send out▪When I give the signal, run!
▪ interpret, read▪The brain interprets the signals from the retina as light.
▪ interpret sth as▪The remark was interpreted as a signal that their government was ready to return to the peace talks.
▪ pick up, respond to▪Interviewers quickly learn to pick up non-verbal signals.
▪ act as▪The insect's yellow spots act as a warning signal to its predators.
SIGNAL + VERB▪ come from sth▪Try to read the signals coming from the patient.
▪ indicate sth▪the signals that can indicate danger
PREPOSITION▪ at a signal, on a signal▪At a prearranged signal, everyone started cheering.
▪ signal for▪She made a signal for the car to stop.
▪ signal from, signal to▪Wait for the signal from the leader of your group.
2 set of lights for driversADJECTIVE▪ railroad (AmE), railway (BrE), trafficVERB + SIGNAL▪ operateSIGNAL + VERB▪ be on red/green, be red/green▪The traffic signals were on red.
▪ failSIGNAL + NOUN▪ box (BrE)▪ failure (BrE)3 series of radio waves, chemical messages, etc.ADJECTIVE▪ faint, weak▪ strong▪ high-frequency, low-frequency▪ input, output▪ acoustic, analogue/analog, audio, chemical, digital, electrical, electronic, GPS, light, radar, radio, satellite, sonar, sound, television, TV, video, wirelessVERB + SIGNAL▪ carry, pass, relay▪The nerves carry these signals to the brain.
▪ amplify, boost▪ convert (sth into), scramble▪The signal is scrambled into code before it is sent.
▪ decode, encode▪ emit, generate, produce, send, transmit▪ detect, pick up, receive, respond to▪This equipment can detect very low-frequency signals.
▪ block, jam▪It is possible to jam GPS signals in battle.
SIGNAL + VERB▪ travel▪The digital signal travels down wires to the server.
▪A light signal can travel well over 16 km before it halves in intensity.
▪ fadeSIGNAL + NOUN▪ intensity, strengthPREPOSITION▪ signal from▪a faint signal from the satellite
▪ signal to{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}verb1 move your arms to give a signalADVERB▪ frantically▪I saw her signal frantically to us.
PREPOSITION▪ for▪He raised his hand to signal for the waiter.
▪ to▪She tried to signal to the bus driver to stop.
2 show/mark sthADVERB▪ clearly▪These changes clearly signal the end of the welfare state as we know it.
▪ effectively (esp. BrE)▪A change of mind effectively signals a change in overall policy.
▪ not necessarily▪A fall in demand does not necessarily signal the death of the industry.
VERB + SIGNAL▪ appear to, seem to▪These events appeared to signal the end of an era.
▪ try to▪ be intended to, be meant to▪This address was meant to signal a change in policy.
Signal is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑bell
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
