consumer price index

noun

: an index measuring the change in the cost of typical wage-earner purchases of goods and services expressed as a percentage of the cost of these same goods and services in some base period

called also cost-of-living index

Examples of consumer price index in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

During the Covid-19 pandemic, stimulus packages contributed to inflation in the U.S., and there was a 9.1% increase in the U.S. consumer price index year over year in June 2022. —Alex Pron, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025

Markets will watch upcoming employment reports and the consumer price index for signs the Fed can ease further without reigniting inflation. —Gabe Whisnant hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025

Consumer prices are up 2.9 percent over the past year as of August, according to the consumer price index, higher than before the election and well above the Fed’s 2 percent target for inflation. —Sylvan Lane, The Hill, 17 Sep. 2025

Here are the results for other key components of the consumer price index report for the Bay Area. —George Avalos, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1945, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

consumer price index

noun

consumer price in·​dex

: an index measuring the change in the cost of typical wage-earner purchases of goods and services in some base period

called also cost-of-living index