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

Penned by Noël Coward in the early 1930s, jazz vocalist Dinah Washington’s take on desire at a distance was produced and arranged by Jones and played by his orchestra as something slower and more simmering than its usual 4/4 time signature. —A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 4 Nov. 2024

Seldom settling for straightforward linearity or conventional structure, the group arranged sophisticated polyrhythms into the aural equivalent of jigsaw puzzles, and juggled scales and time signatures with profound dexterity. —Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2024

For starters, the time signature moves around a bit. —Tom Roland, Billboard, 30 Oct. 2024

Everything is off-balance, including the time signature, which is in 5/4. —Nate Jones, Vulture, 20 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined above

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