signpost
US/ˈsaɪnˌpoʊst/
signpost noun: a post bearing a sign that gives information on directions.
Noun
signpost (plural signposts)
- A post bearing a sign that gives information on directions.
- Dozens of signposts have been stolen, forcing the local authorities to put up the sign at a 2m height and embed it in theft-resistant concrete when putting up replacements.2020 November 26, Philip Oltermann in Berlin, “Fugging hell: tired of mockery, Austrian village changes name”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 15 Jan 2021
- A word or phrase within a clue that serves as an indicator, rather than being fodder.
- In the first example — Dance revolutionised Burma — you know the middle word is the signpost as revolutionised is too long to be the fodder (or letters to scramble). […] And bang, out jumps RUMBA.2012, David Astle, Puzzled: Secrets and clues from a life in words
Verb
signpost (third-person singular simple present signposts, present participle signposting, simple past and past participle signposted)
- To install signposts on.
- The route wasn't signposted, and we got lost on the way.
- To direct (somebody) to services, resources, etc.
- We believe that some Carers' Centres already offer an effective 'first stop shop' for signposting carers to local organisations, services and benefits, and for providing ongoing support as carers' circumstances change.2008, Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Work and Pensions Committee, Valuing and Supporting Carers (volume 1, page 31)
- To signal (something) intentionally, as if with a signpost.
- To indicate (as the logical progress of a discourse) using words or phrases such as now, right, to recap, to sum up, as I was saying, etc.
- Bede, never one to shrink from a challenge, focused his energies not only onto calculating Easter but also onto describing why the maths mattered as much as the result. In this, his elevated rhetoric is balanced by a very human enthusiasm — it's hard not to love a writer who signposts his core...2013 August 8, Charlotte Mulcare, “The lost mathematicians: Numbers in the (not so) dark ages”, in plus.maths.org, retrieved 08 Sep 2013
- To indicate (as the logical progress of a discourse) using words or phrases such as now, right, to recap, to sum up, as I was saying, etc.
signpost meaning in Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada
signpost in Tamil
- post bearing a sign that gives information on directions
- ஆட்காட்டி āṭkāṭṭi, வழிகாட்டி vaḻikāṭṭi
signpost in Bengali
- পথনির্দেশক খুঁটি, দিকনির্দেশক
signpost in Malayalam
- post bearing a sign that gives information on directions
- വഴികാട്ടി vaḻikāṭṭi
signpost in Kannada
- ತೋರ್ಗಂಬ, ಕೈಮರ, ಹೆಸರು ಕಂಬ, ಕಯ್ಮರ, ತೋರ್ಗಂಬ
More languagesFewer languages
- signpost in Indonesian
- plang
Examples of signpost in a sentence
- From such a long distance away, the name on the signpost was unclear.
- As I travelled, the signposts shew me the way.
- A series of notices signpost patients to the X-ray department.
Forms of signpost
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | signposts |
| alternative form | sign-post |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | signposts |
| present participle | signposting |
| past participle | signposted |
| past | signposted |
Origin of signpost
From sign + post.
Words formed from signpost
Questions about signpost
- What does signpost mean?
- Signpost means a post bearing a sign that gives information on directions.
- What is signpost in Tamil?
- Signpost in Tamil is ஆட்காட்டி (āṭkāṭṭi), வழிகாட்டி (vaḻikāṭṭi). See Signpost meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is signpost?
- Signpost can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce signpost?
- Signpost is pronounced /ˈsaɪnˌpoʊst/ (US).
- What is the plural of signpost?
- The plural of signpost is signposts.
Words near signpost in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: signpost (page history and authors); signpost (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); signpost (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-signpost.wav.
Cite this entry: “signpost.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/signpost. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.