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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

descriptor

The descriptor “brilliant” surfaces repeatedly, the verdict of his collaborators.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

It’s as unambiguous a descriptor as you’ll find and has returned 43% year-to-date—four times as much as the S&P 500.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

“Soft power” may in fact be the most apt descriptor of a cultural test’s goal.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026

That “consume” has become the go-to descriptor for how we interact with films points to a larger denigration of the medium itself.

From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2026

Later, octave came to mean a choice of twelve notes, not eight, and we got saddled with the wrong descriptor for ever, but I’ll explain that development when it arrives.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

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