weather vane

American  

Or weathervane

noun

1. a device, as a rod to which a freely rotating pointer is attached, for indicating the direction of the wind.

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weather vane British  

noun

1. a vane designed to indicate the direction in which the wind is blowing

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Etymology

Origin of weather vane

First recorded in 1715–25

Example Sentences

The remarks by Williams are especially important because he is a top ally of Fed Chair Jerome Powell and is seen as a weather vane for the bank’s future moves.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 3, 2026

Marialyce Pedersen walked around the parking lot spinning a weather vane on which she’d fashioned a picture of L.A.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2026

In doing so, it set up a great weather vane for the state of national politics.

From Slate • Dec. 2, 2025

When the tour director “started to explain that the dove of peace on the mansion’s weather vane carried an olive branch, Mrs. Khrushchev muttered, ‘Yes, yes’ and walked away,” the New York Daily News reported.

From Washington Post • Jul. 14, 2022

Some of our best prizes were a baseball cap, a beat-up weather vane shaped like a chicken, and a beautiful feather that looked like it might have come from a peacock.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce