distress signal

noun

: a message that one is in danger

The pilot sent out a distress signal before the plane crashed.

Examples of distress signal in a Sentence

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The survivors were able send a distress signal with a satellite device, prompting a response from the sheriff’s office and Kittitas County Search and Rescue volunteers. —

Mirna Alsharif, NBC news, 11 Jan. 2026 The amygdala interprets that message and sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus, the command center for involuntary bodily functions, like breathing. —

Julia Daye, Popular Science, 3 Dec. 2025 Less than an hour into the flight, the Boeing 777-200ER plane stopped communicating with the ground, but no distress signal was sent. —

Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 3 Dec. 2025 If the Fitzgerald had been fitted with an EPIRB, a distress signal would have been transmitted immediately when the Fitzgerald sank. —

Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 2 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for distress signal

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“Distress signal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/distress%20signal. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.

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