bellwether
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bellwether
- /ˈbɛlwɛðə/ UK
- /ˈbɛlwɛðɚ/ US
Where it comes from
From Middle English belwether, belleweder, equivalent to bell + wether (“castrated ram”).
noun bellwethers · bell-wether · belwether · bellweather · bellwhether
- The leading sheep of a flock, having a bell hung round its neck. Several old ladies forthwith proclaimed their intention of following him; but, as one or two of them were deaf, and another had been threatened with an attack of that mild, but obstinate complaint, dementia senilis, many thought it was not so much the force of his arguments as a kind of tendency to
- Anything that indicates future trends. Mortgage delinquencies often act as a bellwether for a forthcoming recession.
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A stock whose price performance is treated as an indicator of the likely direction of a broader market, sector, or industry.
One of my favorite sentiment indicators is bellwether stocks — key stocks that are leaders in their fields. When investors buy or sell these shares, it's usually a good sign of confidence or the lack of it in that sector of the market and sometimes even the economy.
Similar: bellwether stock
Translations
Every language
noun the leading sheep of a flock, having a bell hung round its neck
| Español | manso |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 鈴つき羊 suzu tsuki hitsuji |
| Français | menon |
| Deutsch | Leithammel |
| עברית | משכוכית |
noun anything that indicates future trends
| Español | barómetro |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 前触れ maebure, 兆し kizashi, 兆候 chōkō, しるし shirushi |
| Português | indicador, barômetro |
| Français | indicateur |
| Deutsch | Trendsetter, Trendbarometer, Indikator, Vorbote |
noun a stock or bond that is widely believed to be an indicator of the overall market's condition
| Español | barómetro |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 指標 shihyō |
| Deutsch | führender Wert, Indikator |
Talk about this word "bellwether." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bellwether. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. bellwether. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bellwether "bellwether." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bellwether.Cite this
@misc{bellwether_2026,
title = {bellwether},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bellwether},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
