a sign of the times

noun phrase

: something that shows the kinds of things that are happening, popular, important, etc., in a culture at a particular period in history
Having metal detectors in schools is a sign of the times.

Examples of a sign of the times in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web And in a sign of the times, the bill has been updated since last year to include protections against the use of artificial intelligence. Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 9 Feb. 2024 The Look: Embellished dusters, crazy jeans, wild hair: pretty much a sign of the times. Alex Apatoff, Peoplemag, 26 Aug. 2023 In a sign of the times, Marley & The Wailers all record in one room simultaneously in the clip, as opposed to isolating vocals and instrumentals as is commonly done now. Katie Atkinson, Billboard, 26 Jan. 2024 In a sign of the times, perhaps, all four of America’s largest carmakers passed on running Super Bowl ads this year—the first time that’s happened in 23 years. Steve Mollman, Fortune, 19 Jan. 2024 In a sign of the times, however, the two teams will instead be playing in Houston at NRG Stadium, home of the NFL's Texans franchise. Kevin Skiver, Detroit Free Press, 8 Jan. 2024 As a sign of the times, Peso became the first Mexican artist to ever perform on the MTV Video Music Awards in September – performing corridos in a space where regional Mexican music had never previously entered. Griselda Flores, Billboard, 8 Dec. 2023 According to Bryson Taggart, an Opendoor agent based in Arizona, the decline is a sign of the times. Kelsey Mulvey, Sunset Magazine, 27 Dec. 2023 In a sign of the times last weekend, though national elections are several years away, a candidate backed by the far-right AFD party in Germany secured its first major mayoral victory, in a city outside Dresden. Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Dec. 2023

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

Dictionary Entries Near a sign of the times

Cite this Entry

“A sign of the times.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/a%20sign%20of%20the%20times. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!