What does signed mean?
Signed describes something that bears a person's name or has received formal approval. In legal and administrative contexts, a signed contract, form, or letter is one that has been completed with a signature, often making it binding or officially valid. The word can also function as the past tense and past participle of sign: someone signs a document, or a person has signed an agreement. Its strongest associations are with authentication, personal responsibility, and formal authorization. Although ‘signed’ can appear in casual conversation, it is especially common in business, legal, governmental, and institutional settings. Understanding the word helps distinguish mere approval from the formal act of signing, which is often required to give a document legal or procedural force.
Bearing a signature or formally approved by an authorized person.
"The judge examined the signed statement."
Common in legal, business, and official contexts.
Past tense and past participle of sign, meaning to write one's name on a document or formally approve it.
"The directors signed the agreement on Monday."
The passive sense, 'be signed by someone,' is especially frequent in formal writing.
A signature transforms a document from an unsigned proposal into an agreement with someone’s name on the line.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does signed come from?
The word comes from the verb sign, with the standard English past-tense and participial ending -ed. Sign itself derives through Old French from Latin signum, meaning a mark, sign, or symbol. The Latin root also underlies words such as signature, signatory, and consign, showing that this vocabulary family is broadly concerned with marks, indications, and formal identification.
Related word forms
How signed is actually used
The adjective and participial uses are common in formal and legal contexts. In everyday speech, 'signed off' can mean formally approved, as in a document signed off by a manager.
Easily confused with signed
A sign is the mark or indication itself, whereas a signed document or agreement is one that bears a person's name or approval.
A sin is a morally wrong act, while signed describes something marked with a name or formally approved.