sign on the dotted line

verb

To formalize an agreement.

“I think they've basically decided to go through with it, but they still have to sign on the dotted line.”

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Meanings

verbsign on the dotted line (third-person singular simple present signs on the dotted line, present participle signing on the dotted line, simple past and past participle signed on the dotted line)

present singular third person signs on the dotted line · participle present signing on the dotted line · participle past signed on the dotted line · past signed on the dotted line

  1. idiomaticintransitiveTo formalize an agreement.

    I think they've basically decided to go through with it, but they still have to sign on the dotted line.

    1 more example

    Staff could sign new contracts... or they could leave. Eventually one person left and 350 guards signed on the dotted line.

    2021 October 20, Angie Doll explains to Paul Clifton, “We were absolutely at rock bottom...”, in RAIL, number 942, page 35
Cite this entry
APA

sign on the dotted line. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sign%20on%20the%20dotted%20line

MLA

“sign on the dotted line.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sign%20on%20the%20dotted%20line. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sign on the dotted line,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sign%20on%20the%20dotted%20line.

Source: sign on the dotted line on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.