constant dollars

Cultural  

1. A convention of statistics that measures industrial output and the like over time while controlling for changes owing to inflation. Using constant dollars usually gives a clearer view of how an enterprise is performing over time.

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Example Sentences

Since the 1920s, the so-called real return on the S&P 500, meaning the return in constant dollars, has been negative in 24% of all five-year periods.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 5, 2026

CDC's budget for diabetes prevention jumped from $66 million in 2010 to $173 million in 2017—a 123% rise, in constant dollars.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 7, 2019

Median national rents rose by 32 percent in constant dollars from 2001 to 2015, while wages remained flat, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts.

From New York Times • Jul. 27, 2018

Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics, the starting salary for Kansas teachers is down an average of 4.3 percent in constant dollars from what they were paid 16 years earlier.

From Washington Times • Apr. 24, 2018

In constant dollars, the Park Service budget today is $200 million a year less than it was a decade ago.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson