as in leader
one that takes the lead or sets an example
the state has a long history of being an early and reliable bellwether in presidential elections
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Recent Examples of bellwether
The Hollywood awards remain a popular Oscar bellwether.
—
John Riley, USA TODAY, 4 Jan. 2025
Many observers apparently wanted to view it as a bellwether for further violence against the rich and powerful, or as the inciting event that might awaken people to the scale and extent of the populist rage in the country toward broken bureaucracies such as our health-care system.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 12 Dec. 2024
With that, the index widely seen as a bellwether for U.S. small-cap names approached correction territory, which is when an average falls 10% from a recent high.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 8 Jan. 2025
One free agent who went the other way was Corbin Burnes, bellwether of the Baltimore Orioles in 2024 but now the top man in the rotation of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
—Dan Schlossberg, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for bellwether 
John Riley, USA TODAY, 4 Jan. 2025
Many observers apparently wanted to view it as a bellwether for further violence against the rich and powerful, or as the inciting event that might awaken people to the scale and extent of the populist rage in the country toward broken bureaucracies such as our health-care system.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 12 Dec. 2024
With that, the index widely seen as a bellwether for U.S. small-cap names approached correction territory, which is when an average falls 10% from a recent high.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 8 Jan. 2025
One free agent who went the other way was Corbin Burnes, bellwether of the Baltimore Orioles in 2024 but now the top man in the rotation of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
—Dan Schlossberg, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for bellwether
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Cite this Entry
“Bellwether.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bellwether. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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