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
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The November consumer price index is due out on Thursday.
—
Hugh Leask,holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 15 Dec. 2025
The federal government shutdown shuttered the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the month of October, preventing agency staff from gathering the statistics needed to compile the employment and consumer price index reports for that month.
—Sylvan Lane, The Hill, 10 Dec. 2025
Electricity and natural gas for heating and cooking are now the leading pressures on inflation in 2025, even exceeding food and grocery costs, according to the latest consumer price index data.
—Jordan Blum, Fortune, 9 Dec. 2025
Real average weekly earnings have risen a modest 1.2% since Trump took office in January, and excluding housing costs, the consumer price index is up 2.2%.
—Tiana Lowe Doescher, The Washington Examiner, 28 Nov. 2025
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Hugh Leask,holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 15 Dec. 2025
The federal government shutdown shuttered the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the month of October, preventing agency staff from gathering the statistics needed to compile the employment and consumer price index reports for that month.
—Sylvan Lane, The Hill, 10 Dec. 2025
Electricity and natural gas for heating and cooking are now the leading pressures on inflation in 2025, even exceeding food and grocery costs, according to the latest consumer price index data.
—Jordan Blum, Fortune, 9 Dec. 2025
Real average weekly earnings have risen a modest 1.2% since Trump took office in January, and excluding housing costs, the consumer price index is up 2.2%.
—Tiana Lowe Doescher, The Washington Examiner, 28 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for consumer price index
Cite this Entry
“Consumer price index.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consumer%20price%20index. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
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