index

noun (plural indexes or especially in technical use indices /ˈɪndɪsiːz/)

• 1(in a book or set of books) an alphabetical list of names, subjects, etc. with reference to the pages on which they are mentioned: clear cross references supplemented by a thorough index
• an alphabetical list by title, author, or other category of a collection of books or documents, for example in a library.
• Computing a set of items each of which specifies one of the records of a file and contains information about its address.

• 2a sign or measure of something:exam results may serve as an index of the teacher’s effectiveness
• a figure in a system or scale representing the average value of specified prices, shares, or other items as compared with some reference figure:the hundred-shares index closed down 9.3
• [with modifier] a number giving the magnitude of a physical property or other measured phenomenon in terms of a standard:the oral hygiene index was calculated as the sum of the debris and calculus indices

• 3 Mathematics an exponent or other superscript or subscript number appended to a quantity.

• 4a pointer on an instrument, showing a quantity, a position on a scale, etc..
• Printing a symbol shaped like a pointing hand, used to draw attention to a note.

verb

• 1record (names, subjects, etc.) in an index:the list indexes theses under regional headings
• provide an index to: she offered help in indexing my text book on bookselling data sets are indexed by subject

• 2link the value of (prices, wages, or other payments) automatically to the value of a price index: the Supreme Soviet passed legislation indexing wages to prices

• 3 [no object] (often as noun indexing) (of a machine or part of one) move from one predetermined position to another in order to carry out a sequence of operations: [as modifier]:a lathe with a cross-slide and an indexing arrangement