Write vs. Sign — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Write and Sign
ADVERTISEMENT
Compare with Definitions
Write
Mark (letters, words, or other symbols) on a surface, typically paper, with a pen, pencil, or similar implement
Alice wrote down the address
He wrote his name on the paper
He wrote very neatly in blue ink
Sign
A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or medical symptoms a sign of disease.
Write
Compose, write, and send (a letter) to someone
I wrote him a short letter
Eleanor wrote to her sister Laura in Paris
I wrote a letter to Alison
He wrote almost every day
Sign
An object, quality, or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else
The shops are full, which is a sign that the recession is past its worst
Flowers are often given as a sign of affection
Write
Compose (a text or work) for written or printed reproduction or publication; put into literary form and set down in writing
She wrote a bestselling novel
He wrote under a pseudonym
I didn't know you wrote poetry
He had written about the beauty of Andalusia
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign
A gesture or action used to convey information or an instruction
She gave him the thumbs-up sign
Write
Enter (data) into a specified storage medium or location in store
Files can be read and written directly into the file system
Sign
A notice on public display that gives information or instructions in a written or symbolic form
I didn't see the ‘Stop’ sign
Write
Underwrite (an insurance policy).
Sign
Each of the twelve equal sections into which the zodiac is divided, named from the constellations formerly situated in each, and associated with successive periods of the year according to the position of the sun on the ecliptic
A person born under the sign of Virgo
A sign of the Zodiac
Write
To form (letters, words, or symbols) on a surface such as paper with an instrument such as a pen.
Sign
The positiveness or negativeness of a quantity
The last four bits hold a pattern to represent the sign of the number
Write
To form (letters or words) in cursive style, especially in contrast to printing by hand.
Sign
Write one's name on (a letter, card, document, etc.) to identify oneself as the writer or sender
The card was signed by the whole class
Write
To spell
How do you write your name?.
Sign
Use gestures to convey information or instructions
She signed to her husband to leave the room
Write
To fill (an amount of space) with words or information
Wrote five pages in an hour.
Sign
Indicate with signposts or other markers
The footpath is signed by the gate
Write
To put written information in the blank spaces of (a check, form, or similar document).
Sign
Mark or consecrate with the sign of the cross
He signed himself with the cross
Write
To produce or compose (text) in a recorded form that can be read
Write a poem.
Write a letter.
Sign
Something that suggests the presence or existence of a fact, condition, or quality
A high temperature is a sign of fever.
Write
To express in writing; set down
Write one's thoughts.
Sign
An act or gesture used to convey an idea, a desire, information, or a command
Gave the go-ahead sign.
Write
To communicate by writing, especially by written letter
She wrote that she was planning to visit.
Sign
Sign language.
Write
To communicate with (someone) by writing, especially by letter
Wrote me to tell me she had moved again.
Sign
A displayed structure bearing lettering or symbols, used to identify or advertise a place of business
A motel with a flashing neon sign outside.
Write
To compose (a musical work).
Sign
A posted notice bearing a designation, direction, or command
An EXIT sign above a door.
A traffic sign.
Write
To underwrite, as an insurance policy.
Sign
A conventional figure or device that stands for a word, phrase, or operation; a symbol, as in mathematics or in musical notation.
Write
To compose in legal form; draft
Write a will.
Sign
Pl. sign An indicator, such as a dropping or footprint, of the trail of an animal
Looking for deer sign.
Write
To indicate; mark
"Utter dejection was written on every face" (Winston S. Churchill).
Sign
A trace or vestige
No sign of life.
Write
To ordain or prophesy
It was written that the empire would fall.
Sign
A portentous incident or event; a presage
Took the eclipse as a sign from God.
Write
(Computers) To transfer or copy (information) from memory to a storage device or output device.
Sign
(Medicine) An objective finding, usually detected on physical examination, from a laboratory test, or on an x-ray, that indicates the presence of abnormality or disease.
Write
To trace or form letters, words, or symbols on paper or another surface
People who cannot read or write.
Sign
One of the 12 divisions of the zodiac, each named for a constellation and represented by a symbol.
Write
To produce written material, such as articles or books
She wrote for most of her adult life.
Sign
To affix one's signature to
Signed the letter.
Write
To compose a letter, email, or other written communication
Please write while you are away.
Sign
To write (one's signature)
Signed her name to the contract.
Write
(ambitransitive) To form letters, words or symbols on a surface in order to communicate.
The pupil wrote his name on the paper.
Your son has been writing on the wall.
Sign
To approve or ratify (a document) by affixing a signature, seal, or other mark
Sign a bill into law.
Write
(transitive) To be the author of (a book, article, poem, etc.).
My uncle writes newspaper articles for The Herald.
Sign
To hire or engage by obtaining a signature on a contract
Signed a rookie pitcher for next season.
Sign up actors for a tour.
Write
(transitive) To send written information to.
(UK) Please write to me when you get there.
(US) Please write me when you get there.
Sign
To relinquish or transfer title to by signature
Signed away all her claims to the estate.
Write
(transitive) To show (information, etc) in written form.
The due day of the homework is written in the syllabus.
Sign
To provide with a sign or signs
Sign a new highway.
Write
To convey a fact to someone via writing.
Jimmy wrote me that he needs more money.
Sign
To communicate with a sign or signs
Signed his approval with a nod.
Write
(intransitive) To be an author.
I write for a living.
Sign
To express (a word or thought, for example) in a sign language
Signed her reply to the question.
Write
To record data mechanically or electronically.
The computer writes to the disk faster than it reads from it.
Sign
To consecrate with the sign of the cross.
Write
To fill in, to complete using words.
I was very anxious to know my score after I wrote the test.
Sign
To make a sign or signs; signal.
Write
To impress durably; to imprint; to engrave.
Truth written on the heart
Sign
To communicate in a sign language.
Write
To make known by writing; to record; to prove by one's own written testimony; often used reflexively.
Sign
To write one's signature.
Write
(finance) To sell (an option or other derivative).
Sign
A perceptible (e.g. visible) indication.
Their angry expressions were a clear sign they didn't want to talk.
Those clouds show signs of raining soon.
Those clouds show little sign of raining soon.
Signs of disease are objective, whereas symptoms are subjective.
The sharp sign indicates that the pitch of the note is raised a half step.
I gave them a thumbs-up sign.
Write
To paint a religious icon.
Sign
Physical evidence left by an animal.
The hunters found deer sign at the end of the trail.
Write
The act or style of writing.
Sign
A clearly visible object, generally flat, bearing a short message in words or pictures.
The sign in the window advertised a room for rent.
I missed the sign at the corner so I took the wrong turn.
Write
(computing) The operation of storing data, as in memory or onto disk.
How many writes per second can this hard disk handle?
Sign
A wonder; miracle; prodigy.
Write
To set down, as legible characters; to form the conveyance of meaning; to inscribe on any material by a suitable instrument; as, to write the characters called letters; to write figures.
Sign
(astrology) An astrological sign.
Your sign is Taurus? That's no surprise.
Write
To set down for reading; to express in legible or intelligible characters; to inscribe; as, to write a deed; to write a bill of divorcement; hence, specifically, to set down in an epistle; to communicate by letter.
Last night she enjoined me to write some lines to one she loves.
I chose to write the thing I durst not speakTo her I loved.
Sign
(mathematics) Positive or negative polarity, as denoted by the + or - sign.
I got the magnitude right, but the sign was wrong.
Write
Hence, to compose or produce, as an author.
I purpose to write the history of England from the accession of King James the Second down to a time within the memory of men still living.
Sign
A specific gesture or motion used to communicate by those with speaking or hearing difficulties; now specifically, a linguistic unit in sign language equivalent to word in spoken languages.
Write
To impress durably; to imprint; to engrave; as, truth written on the heart.
Sign
(uncountable) Sign language in general.
Sorry, I don't know sign very well.
Write
To make known by writing; to record; to prove by one's own written testimony; - often used reflexively.
He who writes himself by his own inscription is like an ill painter, who, by writing on a shapeless picture which he hath drawn, is fain to tell passengers what shape it is, which else no man could imagine.
Sign
A semantic unit, something that conveys meaning or information (e.g. a word of written language); a unit consisting of a signifier and a signified concept. sign (semiotics)]].
Write
To form characters, letters, or figures, as representative of sounds or ideas; to express words and sentences by written signs.
So it stead you, I will write,Please you command.
Sign
An omen.
"It's a sign of the end of the world," the doom prophet said.
Write
To be regularly employed or occupied in writing, copying, or accounting; to act as clerk or amanuensis; as, he writes in one of the public offices.
Sign
(medicine) A property of the body that indicates a disease and, unlike a symptom, can be detected objectively by someone other than the patient.
Write
To frame or combine ideas, and express them in written words; to play the author; to recite or relate in books; to compose.
They can write up to the dignity and character of the authors.
Sign
A military emblem carried on a banner or standard.
Write
To compose or send letters.
He wrote for all the Jews that went out of his realm up into Jewry concerning their freedom.
Sign
To make a mark
Write
Produce a literary work;
She composed a poem
He wrote four novels
Sign
To seal (a document etc.) with an identifying seal or symbol.
The Queen signed her letter with the regal signet.
Write
Communicate or express by writing;
Please write to me every week
Sign
(transitive) To mark, to put or leave a mark on.
Write
Have (one's written work) issued for publication;
How many books did Georges Simenon write?
She published 25 books during her long career
Sign
(transitive) To validate or ratify (a document) by writing one's signature on it.
Write
Communicate (with) in writing;
Write her soon, please!
Sign
(transitive) More generally, to write one's signature on (something) as a means of identification etc.
I forgot to sign that letter to my aunt.
Write
Communicate by letter;
He wrote that he would be coming soon
Sign
To write (one's name) as a signature.
Just sign your name at the bottom there.
I received a letter from some woman who signs herself ‘Mrs Trellis’.
Write
Write music;
Beethoven composed nine symphonies
Sign
(intransitive) To write one's signature.
Please sign on the dotted line.
Write
Mark or trace on a surface;
The artist wrote Chinese characters on a big piece of white paper
Sign
(intransitive) To finalise a contractual agreement to work for a given sports team, record label etc.
Write
Record data on a computer;
Boot-up instructions are written on the hard disk
Sign
(transitive) To engage (a sports player, musician etc.) in a contract.
It was a great month. I managed to sign three major players.
Write
Write or name the letters that comprise the conventionally accepted form of (a word or part of a word);
He spelled the word wrong in this letter
Sign
To make the sign of the cross
Sign
(transitive) To bless (someone or something) with the sign of the cross; to mark with the sign of the cross.
Sign
(reflexive) To cross oneself.
Sign
To indicate
Sign
(intransitive) To communicate using a gesture or signal.
Sign
(transitive) To communicate or make known (a meaning, intention, etc.) by a sign.
Sign
(transitive) To communicate using gestures to (someone).
He signed me that I should follow him through the doorway.
Sign
(intransitive) To use sign language.
Sign
(transitive) To furnish (a road etc.) with signs.
Sign
To determine the sign of
Sign
(transitive) To calculate or derive whether a quantity has a positive or negative sign.
Sign
That by which anything is made known or represented; that which furnishes evidence; a mark; a token; an indication; a proof.
Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God.
It shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.
Sign
Something serving to indicate the existence, or preserve the memory, of a thing; a token; a memorial; a monument.
What time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men, and they became a sign.
Sign
Any symbol or emblem which prefigures, typifles, or represents, an idea; a type; hence, sometimes, a picture.
The holy symbols, or signs, are not barely significative; but what they represent is as certainly delivered to us as the symbols themselves.
Saint George of Merry England, the sign of victory.
Sign
A word or a character regarded as the outward manifestation of thought; as, words are the sign of ideas.
They made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
Sign
Hence, one of the gestures of pantomime, or of a language of a signs such as those used by the North American Indians, or those used by the deaf and dumb.
Sign
A military emblem carried on a banner or a standard.
The shops were, therefore, distinguished by painted signs, which gave a gay and grotesque aspect to the streets.
Sign
The twelfth part of the ecliptic or zodiac.
Sign
A character indicating the relation of quantities, or an operation performed upon them; as, the sign + (plus); the sign - (minus); the sign of division ÷, and the like.
Sign
Any character, as a flat, sharp, dot, etc.
An outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.
Sign
To represent by a sign; to make known in a typical or emblematic manner, in distinction from speech; to signify.
I signed to Browne to make his retreat.
Sign
To make a sign upon; to mark with a sign.
We receive this child into the congregation of Christ's flock, and do sign him with the sign of the cross.
Sign
To affix a signature to; to ratify by hand or seal; to subscribe in one's own handwriting.
Inquire the Jew's house out, give him this deed,And let him sign it.
Sign
To assign or convey formally; - used with away.
Sign
To mark; to make distinguishable.
Sign
To be a sign or omen.
Sign
To make a sign or signal; to communicate directions or intelligence by signs.
Sign
To write one's name, esp. as a token of assent, responsibility, or obligation.
Sign
A perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened);
He showed signs of strain
They welcomed the signs of spring
Sign
A public display of a (usually written) message;
He posted signs in all the shop windows
Sign
Any communication that encodes a message;
Signals from the boat suddenly stopped
Sign
Structure displaying a board on which advertisements can be posted;
The highway was lined with signboards
Sign
(astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided
Sign
(medicine) any objective evidence of the presence of a disorder or disease;
There were no signs of asphixiation
Sign
Having an indicated pole (as the distinction between positive and negative electric charges);
He got the polarity of the battery reversed
Charges of opposite sign
Sign
An event that is experienced as indicating important things to come;
He hoped it was an augury
It was a sign from God
Sign
A gesture that is part of a sign language
Sign
A fundamental linguistic unit linking a signifier to that which is signified;
The bond between the signifier and the signified is arbitrary
Sign
A character indicating a relation between quantities;
Don't forget the minus sign
Sign
Mark with one's signature; write one's name (on);
She signed the letter and sent it off
Please sign here
Sign
Approve and express assent, responsibility, or obligation;
All parties ratified the peace treaty
Have you signed your contract yet?
Sign
Be engaged by a written agreement;
He signed to play the casino on Dec. 18
The soprano signed to sing the new opera
Sign
Engage by written agreement;
They signed two new pitchers for the next season
Sign
Communicate silently and non-verbally by signals or signs;
He signed his disapproval with a dismissive hand gesture
The diner signaled the waiters to bring the menu
Sign
Place signs, as along a road;
Sign an intersection
This road has been signed
Sign
Communicate in sign language;
I don't know how to sign, so I could not communicate with my deaf cousin
Sign
Make the sign of the cross over someone in order to call on God for protection; consecrate
Sign
Used of the language of the deaf
Share Your Discovery
Previous Comparison
Argument vs. BasisNext Comparison
Mug vs. Stein