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

On Friday, traders learned that the Fed won’t get key inflation data before its next rate decision as the Bureau of Labor Statistics scrapped the release of October’s consumer price index. —Sarah Min, CNBC, 21 Nov. 2025

Despite these increases, USPS has established that prices for certain mail services—like first-class stamps—will not change in January, as these are adjusted based on the consumer price index. —Amanda Greenwood, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Nov. 2025

Gasoline accounts for about 3% of the consumer price index, slightly less than the share belonging to electricity and natural gas bills — meaning that possible savings on gasoline could be more than offset by higher utility bills. —Josh Boak, Fortune, 14 Nov. 2025

Meat, poultry, and fish prices, on average, are up 6% over the past year, according to the consumer price index. —Zach Halaschak, The Washington Examiner, 12 Nov. 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