index
part of speech
noun (an index, indexes or indices); verb (index, indexes, indexed, indexing)
meaning for a pupil
1) An index is an alphabetical list at the back of a book that shows on which pages each topic can be found. tree →
2) An index finger is the finger next to the thumb, used for pointing. tree →
3) In maths an index (plural indices) is the small raised number that shows a power, like the 2 in 5². tree →
4) An index is also a number that shows how something changes, such as a price index. tree →
5) To index something means to make an index for it or list it in order. tree →
sense in the lessons
In school pupils use the index of a non-fiction book to find information fast; it is a key research skill together with the contents page and the glossary. In maths «index» or «indices» is the UK word for powers (exponents): 2³ means 2 × 2 × 2 = 8. Phrases: «look it up in the index», «index finger», «laws of indices», «index card».
examples
- Look in the index to find the page about volcanoes. tree →
- The index is at the back; the contents page is at the front. tree →
- Point with your index finger. tree →
- In 3⁴, the index is 4, so it means 3 × 3 × 3 × 3. tree →
- We learned the laws of indices in maths. tree →
- The teacher wrote the questions on index cards. tree →
- The library computer indexes every book by title and author. tree →
- The words in an index are in alphabetical order. tree →
- Page 384--page reference 194 amended to 201 in index entry for "Mythology, &c. tree →
note
Plurals: «indexes» for book lists, «indices» often in maths and science. In the USA «exponent» is more common than «index» for powers. Trap: the contents page lists chapters in page order; the index lists topics in alphabetical order. In maths problems, the index tells how many times to multiply the base by itself, not to multiply by the index (3² = 9, not 6).
In the corpora
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «index» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.