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

—abbreviation CPI

called also cost-of-living index

Examples of consumer price index in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The last inflation print published earlier this week, showing the consumer price index unchanged at 3% in February, is now expected to rise. —Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 26 Mar. 2026

The report assumed the consumer price index at about 3% and looked at what the tradeoffs would be. —Andrea Nakano, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2026

Proponents of indexing typically cite the consumer price index, but that’s only one of numerous inflation measures the government calculates. —Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026

In the final year of the contract, salary increases will be determined by the consumer price index though pay hikes will be no less than 3.25% and no more than 5% that year. —Alicia Fabbre, Chicago Tribune, 17 Mar. 2026

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