harbinger

American  

[hahr-bin-jer] / ˈhɑr bɪn dʒər /

noun

harbingers plural

1. a person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another; herald.

2. anything that foreshadows a future event; omen; sign.

   Frost is a harbinger of winter.

   Synonyms:

   indication, portent, precursor, forerunner, herald

3. a person sent in advance of troops, a royal train, etc., to provide or secure lodgings and other accommodations.

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verb (used with object)

1. to act as harbinger to; herald the coming of.

harbinger British  

/ ˈhɑːbɪndʒə /

noun

1. a person or thing that announces or indicates the approach of something; forerunner

2. obsolete a person sent in advance of a royal party or army to obtain lodgings for them

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verb

1. (tr) to announce the approach or arrival of

Usage

What does harbinger mean? Harbinger most commonly means an omen or a sign of something to come. Harbinger can also mean a person sent ahead to make people aware that someone else is coming (such as a king) or to make preparations (such as for an army), but these meanings are much less common. Harbinger can also be used as a verb meaning to act as a sign or omen. Example: These flowers are always the first to bloom, so people consider them harbingers of spring.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• harbingers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of harbinger

First recorded in 1125–75; late Middle English herbenger, nasalized variant of Middle English herbegere, dissimilated variant of Old French herberg(i)ere “host,” equivalent to herberg(ier) “to shelter” (from Germanic; see harbor) + -iere -er ²

Explanation

A harbinger is something that comes before and that shows what will follow in the future. The robin is a harbinger of spring — its presence means spring is coming soon. The appearance of a ghost is often thought of as a harbinger of death. Middle English herbergere is from Old French herbergeor, "host," from herberge, "camp, shelter," a word ultimately borrowed from a Germanic language.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

harbinger harbingers

The educator aims to raise awareness among visitors about the plight of the animals, as fewer whale sightings is just a harbinger of larger negative changes to come to the marine ecosystem.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

"It's potentially significant. We don't know if it was a one-time event or a harbinger of broader things," Sacks said.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026

It could also be a harbinger of the future of late-night TV.

From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026

As a harbinger of inflation, these unique government bonds could be signaling trouble again.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026

This is how I think of him: like his namesake, the raven, a harbinger of death and doom.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

Whales, she said, can be harbingers of bigger changes under the surface of the ocean.

From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026

“Dreamworld” opens, in the section “Waking Dream,” with harbingers of Surrealism—fusing classicism and modernism, reality and fantasy—by Giorgio de Chirico, whom Apollinaire described as a painter of things beyond the observable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 27, 2025

Jaclyn’s heavy gold comedy and drama mask earrings are harbingers of the two-faced backstabbing ahead.

From Salon ● Mar. 10, 2025

Washcloths are particularly controversial: “People get really riled up, like, ‘Washcloths are harbingers of bacteria,’ and ‘If you don’t use a washcloth, you’re dirty.’

From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2024

If they lingered too long over the front page of the Times or the Post-Intelligencer, though, Seattleites could not avoid seeing harbingers of other troubles to come.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Related Words

• omen
• portent
• precursor