signatory

noun

sig·​na·​to·​ry ˈsig-nə-ˌtȯr-ē 

plural signatories

: a signer with another or others

signatories to a petition

especially : a government bound with others by a signed convention

signatory adjective

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

As a signatory to the NPT, China may even support such an action: Beijing cannot, in fact, afford any incident involving nuclear weapons to occur as a result of the war in Ukraine, because that would draw much more scrutiny to its own nuclear buildup. —William M. Moon, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2024

The letter's signatories argue that the new mandate unfairly impacts several groups of employees. —Jack Kelly, Forbes, 2 Nov. 2024

The report published Thursday comes from an unusual quarter: specialists in the frontier field of animal consciousness, several of whom were signatories of the New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness. —Julia Shapero, The Hill, 31 Oct. 2024

Millennium was a signatory to the WGA West’s 2020 and previous contracts. —Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin signatorius of sealing, from signare

First Known Use

1826, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

signatory

noun

sig·​na·​to·​ry ˈsig-nə-ˌtōr-ē 

plural signatories

: a signer with another or others

signatories to a petition

especially : a government bound with others by a signed convention

signatory adjective