Meaning & use
signs of the times
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Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
the typical features or events of a particular period, seen as showing what society is becoming.
Grammar: Used as a plural noun phrase, almost always after 'the'; it can be the subject or the object of a sentence.
Patterns
- the signs of the times
- be a sign of the times
- see something as a sign of the times
Cheap delivery apps everywhere are one of the signs of the times.
The novel captures the signs of the times: fast money, lonely cities, endless screens.
Many older readers treat the decline of local newspapers as a sign of the times.
phraseidiominformal
used to say that something surprising or unpleasant is simply normal for the present age.
Grammar: Often stands alone as a comment, or follows 'it's just' or 'that's just'.
Patterns
- it's just the signs of the times
- that's the signs of the times
Nobody talks to their neighbors now — it's just the signs of the times.
Paying by phone for a coffee? That's the signs of the times, I suppose.
Common combinations
- a sign of the times
- Same-day delivery has become a sign of the times.
- reflect the signs of the times
- Her photographs reflect the signs of the times more sharply than any report.
- read the signs of the times
- Good managers read the signs of the times and change before they have to.
- one of the signs of the times
- Constant notifications are one of the signs of the times.
- the signs of the times in something
- You can see the signs of the times in the way students study.
Synonyms and how they differ
- the spirit of the age
- More literary and abstract; it suggests the general mood or ideas of a period rather than visible events and habits.
- the mood of the moment
- Focuses on a short-lived feeling in society, not on long-term trends that define an era.
- a trend
- A single developing pattern; 'the signs of the times' usually points to several features together.
Word family
Commonly confused: signs of the times or a sign of the times?
signs of the times vs a sign of the times
The singular form points to one example; the plural phrase 'the signs of the times' means the whole set of features that characterize an era.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase needs 'the' and, when you mention one example, 'one of the signs of the times'. Option A wrongly puts 'a' with a plural noun, C omits 'the', and D adds an unnatural 'of today'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “signs of the times”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.