indicator
/ˈɪndɪkeɪtə
/noun
1A thing that indicates the state or level of something: car ownership is frequently used as an indicator of affluence...
- The results suggest that the frequency of publication of financial statements may be an indicator of economic performance.
- Furthermore, the jump in oil prices is reflected in the trade deficit - an indicator of the unsatisfactory level of competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy.
- The most reliable scale is the Global Severity Index, an indicator of general stress level.
Synonyms
measure, gauge, barometer, index, mark, sign, signal;
guide to;
standard, touchstone, yardstick, benchmark, criterion, point of reference, guideline, test, litmus test
2A device providing specific information on the state or condition of something, in particular:
2.1 [usually with modifier] A gauge or meter of a specified kind: a speed indicator an altitude indicator...
- Surely something as simple as an electronic speed indicator, coupled with a 30 mph zone sign, would have effectively targeted the worst offenders.
- The ship's speed indicator jumped forward, as did the ship, leaving the dimmer-witted fighters behind.
- My last recollection was noting 120 mp/h on the air speed indicator, then I ploughed into trees.
Synonyms
meter, measuring instrument, measuring device, measure, gauge, dial, display, scale, index
2.2British A board or screen in a railway station, airport, etc. giving current information: [as modifier]: the indicator board...
- There was no train anywhere near - nothing even shown on the indicator boards - and yet everyone took it with good grace, and sat patiently.
- The Chelmsford indicator boards were fixed by this evening, but for the last two days we've had no indicators and no announcements.
- After a wait, then squeezing onto a crowded train I found myself at Liverpool Street, where the indicator board showed delayed or cancelled notices on every train.
3British A flashing light or (formerly) other device on a vehicle to show that it is about to change lanes or turn: [as modifier]: an indicator light...
- Conventional car lighting has a number of elements - headlamps, indicators, brake lights - in set positions.
- Clumsy indicator / fog lights upset the purposeful, shark-like nose and bling-bling chrome filler cap allied with red brake callipers also look out of place.
- Flashing direction indicators for motor vehicles, which will be legal in this country from Friday, were pioneered in Bradford, where they were fitted to some trolley-buses over a year ago.
4 Chemistry A compound which changes colour at a specific pH value or in the presence of a particular substance, and can be used to monitor acidity, alkalinity, or the progress of a reaction: the remaining alkali is titrated against standard acid using phenolphthalein as indicator...
- The color change in acid-base indicators is due to a chemical reaction between the indicator and the hydronium ions in the solution.
- This absence of correlation should warn against using CO temperature coefficients of chemical shifts as indicators of a hydrogen bond acceptor.
- Trace elements and oxygen isotopes are useful geochemical indicators of the chemistry of the waters from which the chert precipitated.
5 (also indicator species) An animal or plant species which can be used to infer conditions in a particular habitat: the raccoon is a poor choice as an indicator of riparian habitat...
- The calanoid copepod Lucicutia grandis is an indicator species for this habitat.
- Research indicated the owl is an indicator species whose decline indicates the imperilment of the old-growth forest ecosystem.
- The minnow is an indicator species that suggests the overall health, or sickness, of the entire river ecosystem.