How to Use distress signal in a Sentence

distress signal

noun
  • Maybe the Mets should wear them in games as a distress signal.
    — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 26 Apr. 2026
  • There was some sort of distress signal that was sent before the landing.
    — ABC News, 29 Dec. 2024
  • In dire need of fuel and food, the crew finally sent up a distress signal.
    — Dera Menra Sijabat, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2023
  • Flags should always hang freely but never with the stars down, except as a distress signal.
    — Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY, 13 June 2024
  • Flags should always hang freely but never with the stars down, except as a distress signal.
    — The Enquirer, 14 June 2023
  • The ship’s captain blew a distress signal to alert nearby vessels and tried to slow the influx of water.
    — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
  • Three minutes later, the tower saw smoke coming from the crash site, but the aircraft did not send any distress signal.
    — Michael Lee Simpson, Peoplemag, 18 Aug. 2023
  • The universal distress signal with a whistle is three short blasts in succession.
    — Craig Caudill, Field & Stream, 16 Nov. 2023
  • The pilot sent out a distress signal shortly before the crash, officials said.
    — Hyung-Jin Kim and Kim Tong-Hyung, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2024
  • The crew issued a distress signal, allowing officials to stop much of the traffic on the bridge.
    — William Neff, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2024
  • If the proper distress signal was set off (there’s some question about whether that happened), they should be rescued in a matter of hours.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 25 Apr. 2026
  • Hare managed to set off a distress signal, sending an emergency signal to dispatch, police said.
    — Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 17 Mar. 2024
  • The flag code said the flag should never be displayed upside down except as a distress signal and should never touch the ground or anything else below it.
    — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 14 June 2026
  • An emergency locator beacon that emits a distress signal didn’t trigger on impact.
    — Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, 8 Apr. 2023
  • The amygdala will send a distress signal to the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that acts as the body’s primary control center.
    — Laura Kiniry, Popular Science, 17 June 2026
  • The cockpit voice recorder records pilots’ conversation, emergency alarms and any distress signal made before a crash.
    — Sheikh Saaliq, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2025
  • At least one pilot in the area confirmed the troubled plane’s locator emergency device had emitted a distress signal.
    — Jim Vertuno, Chicago Tribune, 2 May 2026
  • Authorities said the plane did not emit an emergency distress signal that would be triggered by a crash or exposure to seawater.
    — Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Another feature that will be available through this system is a distress signal, which a driver can initiate by pushing a button.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 12 Mar. 2018
  • In the face of a threat, the amygdala sends out a distress signal that activates the sympathetic nervous system and sends adrenaline surging through your body.
    — Shani Harmon, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
  • After the crew answers a distress signal and brings an alien life form back with them, their vessel becomes a trap, its corridors narrowing as the creature moves through the shadows.
    — Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
  • About a minute after that warning, a pilot sent a mayday distress signal, after which the tower issued permission for the aircraft to land, the ministry said.
    — Sam Sweeney, ABC News, 29 Dec. 2024
  • When something feels threatening, the brain’s amygdala, which is central to emotions, triggers a distress signal that activates a fight-or-flight response.
    — Matthew Gaffey, Forbes.com, 19 Feb. 2026
  • Finally, the Horten arrived in the vicinity of the distress signal and spotted Bourguet's life raft.
    — Kerry Breen, CBS News, 23 Jan. 2026
  • Rescue teams launched a search operation after receiving a distress signal from the ship early Wednesday morning.
    — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 5 Mar. 2026
  • The Libra eclipse on the 14th sends an initial distress signal around your health, or potentially around a toxic work situation.
    — Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Sep. 2023
  • Officials first grew concerned about the animal after its tracking collar stopped moving, sending out a distress signal to agency officials.
    — Sean Neumann, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
  • While all this is going down, Cap’n Don John picks up a distress signal from a smaller boat called the Flicka, which is sinking while being attacked by more sharks.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 2 Apr. 2025
  • Early investigations point to engine issues and a distress signal related to a bird strike, though experts believe the landing gear malfunction played a central role.
    — Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 31 Dec. 2024
  • An initial conflict, before the eponymous evil creature even arrives aboard, revolves around whether investigating a distress signal is part of the crew’s employment contract.
    — David Sims, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'distress signal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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