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 cost of eggs for consumers is 34% lower than last year, according to January’s consumer price index. —Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Money, 20 Feb. 2026

Beef costs have risen faster than most other items in the consumer price index, with the broad beef and veal category up 15% over the past year as of January. —Bloomberg Wire, Dallas Morning News, 18 Feb. 2026

However, a report last week showed that the consumer price index when excluding food and energy prices was at its lowest in nearly five years. —Jeff Cox, CNBC, 18 Feb. 2026

Beef costs have risen faster than most other items in the consumer price index, with the broad beef and veal category up 15% over the past year as of January. —Enda Curran, Fortune, 15 Feb. 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