price index

noun

: an index number expressing the level of a group of commodity prices relative to the level of the prices of the same commodities during an arbitrarily chosen base period and used to indicate changes in the level of prices from one period to another

Examples of price index in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Price increases for some goods — mainly those more exposed to tariffs, such as furniture and appliances — have picked up in recent months, according to the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, which is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge. —Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2025

The Fed will get to review two more important inflation barometers before its next policy meeting, the producer price index and consumer price index. —Alex Veiga, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2025

The personal consumption expenditures price index rose in line with economist expectations. —Sean Conlon,brian Evans, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2025

The price indexes for apparel and sporting goods dropped 0.2% and 1.3%, respectively. —Emily Lorsch, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1886, in the meaning defined above