bellwether
noun
Did you know?
Because it suggests the act of forecasting, one might be inclined to think that bellwether has something to do with weather. But the wether in bellwether has nothing to do with meteorology. Instead, to learn whither wether, we must head to the sheep farm. We usually think of sheep more as followers than leaders, but in a flock one sheep must lead the way. Since long ago, it has been common practice for shepherds to hang a bell around the neck of one sheep in their flock, thereby designating it the lead sheep. This animal was historically called the bellwether, a word formed by a combination of the Middle English words belle (meaning “bell”) and wether (a noun that refers to a male sheep, and today specifically to a castrated male sheep). It eventually followed that bellwether would come to refer to someone who takes initiative or who actively establishes a trend that is taken up by others. This usage first appeared in English in the 15th century and has remained in the language ever since.
Examples of bellwether in a Sentence
Abby Stern, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
As the nation's second-largest private employer, Amazon's automation playbook could become a bellwether for the broader job market and other corporations.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2025
And with his large following, Posobiec is seen by many on the right as both a bellwether for what the base cares about and a way to reach that base.
—Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 22 Oct. 2025
The opening sequence — involving a scared little boy whose fear only accelerates during a nightmarish car ride — is a decent bellwether for the first five episodes (which is all that were screened for critics, of the eight total).
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bellwether
Cite this Entry
“Bellwether.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bellwether. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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bellwether
noun
from earlier bellwether "leading sheep (or wether) of a flock," from the fact that this sheep wore a bell which told the shepherd where the flock was
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