sign

«sign» in Mova's school dictionary: a board with words or pictures that tells you something… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (sign, signs); verb (sign, signs, signed, signing)

meaning for a pupil

1) A sign is a board with words or pictures that tells you something, like a road sign or a shop sign. tree →

2) A sign in maths is a mark like +, −, ×, ÷ or =. tree →

3) A sign is something that shows that something is true or will happen: dark clouds are a sign of rain. tree →

4) To sign is to write your name on something. tree →

5) To sign is also to talk with hand signs, as in sign language. tree →

sense in the lessons

In maths: a road sign giving a distance, a price sign, or the plus, minus, times, divide and equals signs in a number sentence; a plus or minus sign names the operation. Safety: obey road signs like STOP and the green walking figure. In science: signs of spring, signs of illness. Phrases: road sign, stop sign, plus sign, sign your name, sign language, a good sign, sign up.

examples

• The sign says the town is 12 miles away. tree →
• Put the right sign between 7 and 3 to get 10. tree →
• The sign shows apples cost 50 cents each. tree →
• 30 people signed the card. tree →
• Stop at the stop sign and look both ways. tree →
• Swallows coming back are a sign of spring. tree →
• Please sign your name at the bottom. tree →
• My cousin uses sign language to talk with her deaf friend. tree →
• A smile is often a sign that someone is happy. tree →
• “Read the sign and you’ll know.” tree →

note

The g is silent: say «sine». Related: signal, signature. A plus or minus sign names the operation. Trap: a price sign gives the price of one, so multiply for many. Trap: «sign up» means to join something.

In the corpora

• A picket line is striking workers standing outside their workplace with signs, peacefully asking others not to go in.
• Renters sign a tenancy and pay a deposit that comes back if the home is left in good condition.
• Being engaged means two people have promised to marry each other, and a ring is often given as a sign of the promise.
• When people want something changed, they can protest peacefully, sign a petition, or stop work together in a strike.
• A grown-up's tiredness or bad mood is usually not about the child and not a sign they are cross with them.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «sign» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.