index fund

American  

noun

1. a fund, as a mutual fund or pension fund, with a portfolio that contains many of the securities listed in a major stock index in order to match the performance of the stock market generally.

---

Etymology

Origin of index fund

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

Yet what index fund investors see in their portfolios will be quite different, as the largest-ever IPO will represent only a fraction of the company’s total shares currently owned by private investors.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

If your goal in owning a large-cap index fund is to be invested in all of the biggest U.S. firms, new fast-tracking rules help accomplish that sooner.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

The question is: Will your index fund or ETF own these newly minted megacap stocks immediately, years from now or not at all?

From MarketWatch • Jun. 2, 2026

Ang’s results are driven mainly by taxes on dividends and on periodic capital gains within the index fund as its membership changed over time.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

But then, no index fund has a unique strategy like this one.

From Barron's • May 13, 2026