buzz vs signal

buzz

verb
  • To communicate with (a person) by means of a buzzer. 

  • To fly while making such a sound. 

  • To show a high level of activity and haste, energization or excitement, to be busy as a bee in one’s actions but perhaps mentally charged. 

  • Of a group of people, to talk about some interesting topic excitedly. 

  • To whisper; to communicate, as tales, in an undertone; to spread, as a report, by whispers or secretly. 

  • To make a low, continuous, humming or sibilant sound, like that made by bees with their wings. 

  • To fly at high speed and at a very low altitude over a specified area, as to make a surprise pass. 

  • To talk to incessantly or confidentially in a low humming voice. 

  • To utter a murmuring sound; to speak with a low, humming voice. 

  • To cut the hair in a close-cropped military style, or buzzcut. 

noun
  • Major topic of conversation; widespread rumor; information spread behind the scenes. 

  • Synonym of fizz-buzz (“counting game”) 

  • The audible friction of voiced consonants. 

  • A whisper. 

  • A rush or feeling of energy or excitement; a feeling of slight intoxication. 

  • A continuous humming noise, as of bees; a confused murmur, as of general conversation in low tones. 

  • A telephone call or e-mail. 

signal

verb
  • To communicate with (a person or system) by a signal. 

  • To indicate; to convey or communicate by a signal. 

noun
  • A token; an indication; a foreshadowing; a sign. 

  • A signalling interaction between cells 

  • An electromagnetic action, normally a voltage that is a function of time, that conveys the information of the radio or TV program or of communication with another party. 

  • Any variation of a quantity or change in an entity over time that conveys information upon detection. 

  • An on-off light, semaphore, or other device used to give an indication to another person. 

  • A simple interprocess communication used to notify a process or thread of an occurrence. 

  • Useful information, as opposed to noise. 

  • An action, change or process done to convey information and thus reduce uncertainty. 

  • A sign made to give notice of some occurrence, command, or danger, or to indicate the start of a concerted action. 

  • A sequence of states representing an encoded message in a communication channel. 

adj
  • Standing above others in rank, importance, or achievement. 

How often have the words buzz and signal occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )