time signature

noun

: a sign used in music to indicate meter and usually written as a fraction with the bottom number indicating the kind of note used as a unit of time and the top number indicating the number of units in each measure

Examples of time signature in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Gaye had changed the time signature, from the oom-pah-pah European waltz time of 3/4 to the more standard (and more gospel) march of 4/4. — Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026 Youthful ambition bequeathed them unpredictably shifting time signatures, a daunting nylon-string intro, some odd musical shifts during the guitar-solo section, and a long list of other complexities. — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2026 Do the children secretly yearn for dazzling time signature changes, for theatrical concept albums, for Moog racks? — Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 19 July 2026 Probably because at the time many of the time signatures and chordal progressions that Miles used were over the head of a young guitar player still functioning in the blues and folk idioms. — Steve Baltin, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for time signature

Word History

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of time signature was in 1841

Browse Nearby Words

time signal
time signature
time slot
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Time signature.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/time%20signature. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

time signature

noun
: a sign used to indicate musical meter and usually written with one number above another with the bottom number indicating the kind of note used as a unit of time and the top number indicating the number of these units in each measure

More from Merriam-Webster on time signature

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about time signature

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