From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsemaphoresem‧a‧phore /ˈseməfɔː $ -fɔːr/ noun [uncountable] TCa system of sending messages using two flags, which you hold in different positions to represent letters and numbers
Examples from the Corpus
semaphore• Look at the alphabet semaphore chart to find out where to place your flags.• She was very good at semaphore and had won the Signaller Badge.• His hands windmill in a frenetic semaphore and his body shifts in ceaseless motion, with a life of its own.• As Robert watched, Aziz raised his mop and started a kind of semaphore in the direction of the Windmill.• However, the White House has been encouraged by the political semaphore coming from Capitol Hill.• She does it in a way that suggests intimacy, a shared semaphore.• There is no need to learn all the semaphore signs before beginning to signal.• She had shown Cheryl little ways that would help her to remember the semaphore letters and she practised signalling with her.Origin semaphore (1800-1900) Greek sema “sign” + -phoros “carrying” 