at the first sign

idiom

: as soon as something happens that indicates an action or event has begun to take place
The bartender called the police at the first sign of trouble.
At the first sign of spring she planted annuals in her flower beds.

Examples of at the first sign in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Instead of turning tail and bolting at the first sign of an awkward talk, lean in and do your part to meet other people halfway. Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 20 Mar. 2024 Elsewhere, hungry civilians desperately climb over each other at the first sign of aid – exposing themselves to potential danger. Sana Noor Haq, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024 Bébé, who still saw herself as her daughter’s guardian, appeared at the first sign of sickness. Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 The antigen tests used to detect COVID need a certain viral load to accurately assess whether or not someone is infected with the virus, which makes immediate testing at the first sign of symptoms a possible issue. Maggie O'Neill, Health, 13 Oct. 2023 See all Example Sentences for at the first sign 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'at the first sign.' 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 at the first sign

Cite this Entry

“At the first sign.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/at%20the%20first%20sign. Accessed 4 Jul. 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!