sign on

verb

|Updated on: 8 Aug 2018

Definition of sign on

intransitive verb

1 : to engage oneself by or as if by a signature

signed on to the new project

2 : to announce the start of broadcasting for the day

—

sign-on

play \ˈsī-ˌnȯn, -ˌnän\ noun

See sign on defined for kids

Recent Examples of sign on from the Web

According to Maher, corporate sponsors sign on for an annual partnership with the cafe, and Shiru does not receive a commission for successful recruitment.

— graham ambrose, BostonGlobe.com, "Free coffee — with a catch — is coming to Massachusetts," 14 July 2018
Kavanaugh, a bright, thoughtful and richly qualified candidate starts with the presumption that every Republican will sign on to his nomination, which probably means that four or five Democrats from red states will get aboard as well.

— chris stirewalt, Fox News, "Dems face big loss, big opportunity with Kavanaugh," 10 July 2018
High-profile Democrats, including several likely to make a bid for the White House in 2020, are signing on to the various Medicare-for-all bills being introduced in Congress.

— colby itkowitz, Washington Post, "The Health 202: Medicare for all is new Democratic mantra in congressional races," 9 July 2018
But dozens of others didn’t sign on, said Ericka Dunlap, Miss America 2004.

— valerie bauerlein, WSJ, "Miss America Organization Split by #MeToo Era Swimsuit Decision," 8 July 2018
Spaceflight has signed on for three Rocket Lab launches—but not for its own satellites: The company gathers up other people's smallsats and books their launches, usually on bigger rockets with VIP bigger satellites.

— sarah scoles, WIRED, "Never Prebook Your Return Flight From a Rocket Launch," 6 July 2018
Most recently, Variety reported that Diane Lane had signed on for the series.

— caroline hallemann, Town & Country, "The mini-series from Mad Men's Matthew Weiner is about the modern descendants of the Romanov family.," 2 July 2018
The end of the week saw two high-profile politicians sign on: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.

— ella nilsen, Vox, "The movement to abolish ICE is starting to go mainstream.," 29 June 2018
Also uncertain is whether Democrats will sign on and help ensure passage through the full House, and whether the Senate will support the idea.

— gabriel popkin, Science | AAAS, "Updated: Quantum physics gets attention—and brighter funding prospects—in Congress," 27 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sign on.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of sign on

1879

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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