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# index

«index» in Mova's school dictionary: **an alphabetical list at the back of a book that shows on…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/index/#m1)

2) An index finger is the finger next to the thumb, used for pointing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/index/#m2)

3) In maths an index (plural indices) is the small raised number that shows a power, like the 2 in 5². [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/index/#m3)

4) An index is also a number that shows how something changes, such as a price index. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/index/#m4)

5) To index something means to make an index for it or list it in order. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/index/#m5)

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/index/#x1)
- The index is at the back; the contents page is at the front. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/index/#x2)
- Point with your index finger. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/index/#x3)
- In 3⁴, the index is 4, so it means 3 × 3 × 3 × 3. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/index/#x4)
- We learned the laws of indices in maths. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/index/#x5)
- The teacher wrote the questions on index cards. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/index/#x6)
- The library computer indexes every book by title and author. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/index/#x7)
- The words in an index are in alphabetical order. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/index/#x8)
- Page 384--page reference 194 amended to 201 in index entry for "Mythology, &c. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/index/#x9)

### 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

- [When the UV index is high, stay in the shade from about 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., when the sun is strongest.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/234-snow-ice-and-sun/19/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «index» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/index/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.