signal
part of speech
noun (a signal, signals); verb (signal, signals, signalled/signaled, signalling/signaling)
meaning for a pupil
1) A signal is a sound, light, sign or movement that gives a message or warning: a traffic signal, a hand signal. tree →
2) A signal is the radio waves that carry sound, pictures or data to phones, TVs and radios. tree →
3) To signal is to give a message by a movement, light or sound. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: A sign such as a beacon fire raised on a hill to warn of an enemy. Interpretation: Jeremiah calls for a horn and a fire signal to warn of an invasion from the north. Tradition reads this as the prophet warning Judah to repent before the Babylonian attack. In the primary lessons: In road safety, cyclists use hand signals to show turns, and drivers use indicators; railway and traffic signals tell when to stop or go. In science, signals travel from senses to the brain along nerves. In technology, «no signal» means the phone cannot connect. In emergencies, a whistle or torch can signal for help (three blasts or flashes).
examples
- Put yourselves under covert, ye children of Benjamin, away from the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the horn in Tekoa, and set up a signal on Beth-cherem; for evil looketh forth from the north, and a great destruction. (Prophets JER.6.1, JPS 1917) tree →
- The traffic signal turned red. tree →
- Signal with your arm before you turn on your bike. tree →
- My phone has no signal in the mountains. tree →
- The teacher raised her hand as a signal for quiet. tree →
- Three whistle blasts are a signal for help. tree →
- Nerves carry signals to the brain. tree →
- The referee signalled a free kick. tree →
- A smoke signal rose from the hill. tree →
- Conn gave the signal and his guests seated themselves. tree →
note
British: signalled, signalling; American: signaled, signaling. Countable. «Sign» and «signal» are related: a sign shows a message that stays; a signal is often a message given at a moment.
In the corpora
- Three lamps that are each on or off make 2 × 2 × 2 = 8 different signals; four lamps make 16.
- Breaching means leaping out of the water; scientists think whales do it to signal, show off or knock off skin pests.
- Sharks also sense tiny electric signals from other animals' muscles through little pores on their snouts.
- Tigers have bright white spots on the backs of their black ears, which may help cubs follow their mother and send signals.
- A slow blink from a cat is a friendly signal, and if you blink slowly back, many cats blink again.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «signal» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.