Did You Know?

A signatory puts his or her signature on a document that is also signed by others. In 1215 the English barons revolted against King John and forced him to join them as a signatory to the Magna Carta. This agreement stated the barons' own duties to the King but also assigned the barons clear rights and limited the King's power over them. Though the Magna Carta did nothing for the common people, it's often been called the first step toward democracy in the English-speaking countries.

Examples of signatory in a Sentence

a signatory of the Declaration of Independence

Recent Examples on the Web The signatory nations agreed to give up roughly 90 percent of their land, about seven-eighths of the state, in return for 7.4 million acres of reservations. — Kiliii Yüyan, History & Culture, "‘There’s good fire and bad fire.’ An Indigenous practice may be key to preventing wildfires," 17 Dec. 2020 The announcement came days before a meeting of the European joint commission that oversees the deal and brings together the signatory nations — Iran, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. — Tyler Van Dyke, Washington Examiner, "Iran would comply with nuclear deal ‘within an hour’ of US rejoining: Report," 15 Dec. 2020 Beijing, like the United States, is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which founded the ICC in 2002. — Hollie Mckay, Fox News, "Is the ICC corrupted by China?," 23 Dec. 2020 As China is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, prosecution at the court has always been a long shot. — James Griffiths, CNN, "China avoids ICC prosecution over Xinjiang for now, but pressure is growing," 14 Dec. 2020 Council members approved another amendment to the grant agreement Thursday, including adding the PFC as signatory, transferring the property to it and pledging the TIRZ funds, which will be reimbursed to the trust. — Madison Iszler, ExpressNews.com, "Troubled East Side project moving forward," 3 Dec. 2020 Greg Brower, former assistant director of the FBI and a signatory to the statement, said in an interview that the refusal by Trump to concede has prevented officials from receiving unclassified and secret briefings about threats. — Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY, "'Special jeopardy': 100 former Republican national security officials warn Trump must allow transition," 23 Nov. 2020 Tom Hickman, another lawyer acting for Ms. Begum this week, argued on Tuesday that the decision to strip Ms. Begum of her citizenship could violate the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Britain is a signatory. — Elian Peltier, New York Times, "U.K. Woman Who Joined ISIS in Syria Asks High Court to Let Her Return Home," 24 Nov. 2020 Oscar Anderson, of the Oscar Anderson House Museum, was another signatory. — David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, "1920 was the year Anchorage voted to became a self-governing town. Not everyone was happy about it.," 15 Nov. 2020

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