descriptor

American  

[dih-skrip-ter] / dɪˈskrɪp tər /

noun

1. a significant word or phrase used to categorize or describe text or other material, especially when indexing or in an information retrieval system.

2. Computers. a data item that stores the attributes of some other datum.

   a task descriptor.

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Etymology

Origin of descriptor

First recorded in 1930–35, for an earlier sense; describe + -tor, with vowel change and devoicing by analogy with similar Latin derivatives

Example Sentences

But the common descriptors “scorched,” “blackened” and “destroyed” did not apply.

From Los Angeles Times

They’re calling it “mysterious” and underscoring the name “radiation” fog, which is the scientific descriptor for such natural fog events — not an indication that they carry radioactive material.

From Los Angeles Times

But these potentially ageist descriptors are problematic at best — and illegal at worst.

From MarketWatch

But now, we have really refined down the descriptors—we haven’t taken the poetry out of it entirely; we’ve simplified it.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Dissociative” is a decent descriptor for Isella’s music, too — disorienting, unnerving, drawing out emotions you might not understand.

From Los Angeles Times