Illustration of semaphore
- alphabet; 3 positions following Z
sem·a·phore
ˈse-mə-ˌfȯr 
1
: an apparatus for visual signaling (as by the position of one or more movable arms)
2
: a system of visual signaling by two flags held one in each hand
semaphored; semaphoring
: to convey (information) by or as if by semaphore
: to send signals by or as if by semaphore
Examples of semaphore in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Robert Sullivan, Vogue, 22 Mar. 2023
Telegraph Hill itself was named after the semaphore station built on top of it in 1850 to signal that ships had arrived.
—Kevin Fisher-Paulson, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Feb. 2023
Her eyes blaze, her dancing reads as semaphore; a feeling of overkill, unsettling but necessary, pervades her every move.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper’s Magazine , 18 Jan. 2022
It’s not a sentimental picture, but the gestures are intuitive, eloquent, easily read—an elemental semaphore of the human capacity to comfort.
—Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2021
The main difference with this method is how the semaphore is initialized.
—Jacek Krywko, Ars Technica, 2 Oct. 2020
Predictably, this area was a resource locked with a mutex semaphore.
—Jacek Krywko, Ars Technica, 2 Oct. 2020
The dollar, which has fallen by 6% against a basket of currencies since March, is usually part of the semaphore.
—The Economist, 11 June 2020
One dancer executed a series of semaphore-like movements, which the dancer on the next roof over tried to copy exactly, and so on down the line.
—Brian Seibert, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2020
Kerry McDermott, Vogue, 21 June 2023
That’s a lot to semaphore in a look.
—Sarah Harris, Vogue, 26 May 2022
Poorly directed, singers semaphore conventional, unconvincing theatrical gestures that turn them right back into stock opera characters.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2021
The movie needs Winslet and Ronan’s skills, their ability to semaphore more with sliding glances and tiny gestures than many actors manage with pages of dialogue.
—Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2020
One of the many things the halted meteorological data gathering couldn’t do on such occasions was release the mutex semaphore to the high-priority bus management task.
—Jacek Krywko, Ars Technica, 2 Oct. 2020
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Noun
With paint on fabric that is somewhere between a painting and semaphore, another theme is spelled out at the back of the room: tartan.
—Robert Sullivan, Vogue, 22 Mar. 2023
Telegraph Hill itself was named after the semaphore station built on top of it in 1850 to signal that ships had arrived.
—Kevin Fisher-Paulson, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Feb. 2023
Her eyes blaze, her dancing reads as semaphore; a feeling of overkill, unsettling but necessary, pervades her every move.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper’s Magazine , 18 Jan. 2022
It’s not a sentimental picture, but the gestures are intuitive, eloquent, easily read—an elemental semaphore of the human capacity to comfort.
—Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2021
The main difference with this method is how the semaphore is initialized.
—Jacek Krywko, Ars Technica, 2 Oct. 2020
Predictably, this area was a resource locked with a mutex semaphore.
—Jacek Krywko, Ars Technica, 2 Oct. 2020
The dollar, which has fallen by 6% against a basket of currencies since March, is usually part of the semaphore.
—The Economist, 11 June 2020
One dancer executed a series of semaphore-like movements, which the dancer on the next roof over tried to copy exactly, and so on down the line.
—Brian Seibert, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2020
Verb
All-white outfits might be all the rage with celebrities this summer, but Selena Gomez knows nothing semaphores Parisian chic quite like black.
—Kerry McDermott, Vogue, 21 June 2023
That’s a lot to semaphore in a look.
—Sarah Harris, Vogue, 26 May 2022
Poorly directed, singers semaphore conventional, unconvincing theatrical gestures that turn them right back into stock opera characters.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2021
The movie needs Winslet and Ronan’s skills, their ability to semaphore more with sliding glances and tiny gestures than many actors manage with pages of dialogue.
—Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2020
One of the many things the halted meteorological data gathering couldn’t do on such occasions was release the mutex semaphore to the high-priority bus management task.
—Jacek Krywko, Ars Technica, 2 Oct. 2020
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'semaphore.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
borrowed from French sémaphore, from Greek sêma "sign, signal" + -phoros -phore — more at semantic
Note: The French word flouts the rules of Greco-Latin word formation, according to which the correct outcome would be sématophore. The genesis of sémaphore is somewhat obscure. Early on the word is associated with an innovative system of optical telegraphy used for coastal communication, based on the inventions of Claude Chappe developed in France in the 1790's. This revised system, employing a mast with three movable arms, was the work of Charles Depillon (1768-1805), a retired artillery officer and farmer. It was described in the article "Nouveaux Télégraphes, á l'usage de la Marine, de l'Intérieur, et des Armées," Annales des Arts et Manufactures, vol. 4 (4 nivôse An IX [December 25, 1800], pp. 90-112). An offprint of this article is archived in the Service historique de la Marine in Vincennes, France, along with a letter written by Depillon dated June 11, 1801. (For this and other bibliographic details, see François Cabane, Charles Depillon (1768-1805), Inventeur des Sémaphores côtiers, Plouzané: Ifremer, 2007.) The word sémaphore is not used in the article, and apparently not in the letter, so that there is no strong indication that it was coined by Depillon. It is used in Signaux de la ligne sémaphorique établie sur les côtes de l'Océan et de la Méditerranée (Paris: Imprimerie Impériale, 1806), an official description of the semaphore system published by order of the naval minister Denis Decrès. According to Cabane, the word sémaphores is written on the cover of the book as well as on the cover of the accompanying atlas.
Verb
derivative of semaphore entry 1
First Known Use
Noun
1815, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1838, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Articles Related to semaphore
Dictionary Entries Near semaphore
Cite this Entry
“Semaphore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/semaphore. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
semaphore
noun
sem·a·phore
ˈsem-ə-ˌfō(ə)r,
-ˌfȯ(ə)r
1
: a device for sending signals that can be seen by the receiver
2
: a system of sending signals with two flags held one in each hand
More from Merriam-Webster on semaphore
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for semaphore
Nglish: Translation of semaphore for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about semaphore
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