price index

American  

noun

1. an index of the changes in the prices of goods and services, based on the prices of the same goods and services at a period arbitrarily selected as a base, usually expressed as 100.

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Etymology

Origin of price index

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

But Fed officials pay more attention to the Commerce Department’s personal-consumption expenditures price index, or PCE, which the central bank uses to define its inflation target.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026

Over the past year, the PCE price index is up by 3.8%, still above the 2% target rate for the Fed.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

The personal-consumption price index rose by 0.4% last month, the fifth large increase in a row.

From MarketWatch • May 28, 2026

The effects are likely to be seen in Thursday’s release of the personal consumption expenditures price index for April.

From Barron's • May 26, 2026

Fifty thousand pounds in modern money, using a retail price index, but £725,000 in modern money using an average wage multiplier.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• consumer price index
• retail price index
• wholesale price index