Standard Lemma guide

indicator

noun · 13 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈɪn.dɪˌkeɪ.tə(ɹ)/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH1 N D AH0 K EY2 T ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A pointer or index that indicates something.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A meter or gauge.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The needle or dial on such a meter.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Any of many substances, such as litmus, used to indicate the concentration of a substance, or the degree of a reaction.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A plant or animal whose presence is indicative of some specific environment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, ecology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A measure, such as unemployment rate, which can be used to predict economic trends.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: economics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

A turn signal; each of the flashing lights on each side of a vehicle which indicate a turn is being made to left or right, or a lane change etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Australia, Ireland, New-Zealand, South-Africa, UK

Topics: automotive, transport, vehicles

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: blinker, directional, directional signal, direction indicator, trafficator, turn indicator, turn signal

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

A bird, the honeyguide.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

A codeword that marks the use of a specific cryptic device.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: crosswording

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

noun

Meaning 10

a device for showing the operating condition of some system

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: device

Narrower terms: annunciator, cursor, pointer, dial, fuel gauge, fuel indicator, gnomon, level, spirit level, pilot light, pilot lamp, indicator lamp, scale, test paper, tidemark

11

noun

Meaning 11

a number or ratio (a value on a scale of measurement) derived from a series of observed facts; can reveal relative changes as a function of time

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: index, index number, indicant

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fact

Narrower terms: body mass index, BMI, business index, leading indicator, price index, price level, short account, stock index, stock market index

12

noun

Meaning 12

a signal for attracting attention

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: signal, signaling, sign

Narrower terms: reference point, point of reference, reference

13

noun

Meaning 13

(chemistry) a substance that changes color to indicate the presence of some ion or substance; can be used to indicate the completion of a chemical reaction or (in medicine) to test for a particular reaction

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: coloring material, colouring material, color, colour

Narrower terms: absorption indicator, acid-base indicator, alpha-naphthol test, Molisch's test, Molisch test, Molisch reaction, oxidation-reduction indicator

History

Etymology

From Late Latin indicātor (“one who points out”), from Latin indicō (“point out”). By surface analysis, indicate + -or; see indicate.

Across languages

Translations

188 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: показалец (pokazalec) — pointer
  • Bulgarian: стрелка (strelka) — pointer
  • Chinese Mandarin: 指示符 (zhǐshìfú) — pointer
  • Dutch: richtingaanwijzer — pointer
  • Esperanto: indikilo — pointer
  • Estonian: indikaator — pointer
  • Estonian: näitaja — pointer
  • Finnish: osoitin — pointer
  • Finnish: indikaattori — pointer
  • French: indicateur — pointer
  • German: Indikator — pointer
  • German: Anzeige — pointer
  • Greek: δείκτης (deíktis) — pointer
  • Hungarian: mutató — pointer
  • Hungarian: -jelző — pointer
  • Hungarian: jelzőkészülék — pointer
  • Indonesian: indikator — pointer
  • Japanese: インジケータ (injikēta) — pointer
  • Japanese: インジケーター (injikētā) — pointer
  • Japanese: 指示薬 (shijaku) — pointer
  • Korean: 인디케이터 (indikeiteo) — pointer
  • Korean: 지시약 (jisiyak) — pointer
  • Latvian: indikators — pointer
  • Macedonian: пока́зател (pokázatel) — pointer
  • Macedonian: стре́лка (strélka) — pointer
  • Norwegian: viser — pointer
  • Polish: wskaźnik — pointer
  • Portuguese: indicador — pointer
  • Romanian: indicator — pointer
  • Russian: индика́тор (indikátor) — pointer
  • Russian: указа́тель (ukazátelʹ) — pointer
  • Spanish: señalizador — pointer
  • Swedish: indikator — pointer
  • Telugu: సూచిక (sūcika) — pointer
  • Arabic: مُؤَشِّر (muʔaššir) — meter or gauge
  • Bulgarian: индика́тор (indikátor) — meter or gauge
  • Finnish: mittari — meter or gauge
  • Finnish: mittalaite — meter or gauge
  • Greek: δείκτης (deíktis) — meter or gauge
  • Greek: μετρητής (metritís) — meter or gauge
  • Hungarian: -mérő — meter or gauge
  • Hungarian: mérőeszköz — meter or gauge
  • Hungarian: -óra — meter or gauge
  • Latvian: indikators — meter or gauge
  • Norwegian: måler — meter or gauge
  • Polish: wskaźnik — meter or gauge
  • Portuguese: indicador — meter or gauge
  • Russian: индика́тор (indikátor) — meter or gauge
  • Spanish: indicador — meter or gauge
  • Swedish: mätare — meter or gauge
  • Bulgarian: стрелка (strelka) — needle or dial on a meter
  • Bulgarian: скала (skala) — needle or dial on a meter
  • Chinese Mandarin: 指針 /指针 (zhǐzhēn) — needle or dial on a meter
  • Danish: viser — needle or dial on a meter
  • Finnish: osoitin — needle or dial on a meter
  • Finnish: indikaattori — needle or dial on a meter
  • French: aiguille — needle or dial on a meter
  • German: Zeiger — needle or dial on a meter
  • Greek: δείκτης (deíktis) — needle or dial on a meter
  • Hungarian: mutató — needle or dial on a meter
  • Japanese: 針 (hari) — needle or dial on a meter
  • Latvian: rādītājs — needle or dial on a meter
  • Norwegian: viser — needle or dial on a meter
  • Polish: wskazówka — needle or dial on a meter
  • Portuguese: ponteiro — needle or dial on a meter
  • Russian: стре́лка (strélka) — needle or dial on a meter
  • Russian: индика́тор (indikátor) — needle or dial on a meter
  • Serbo-Croatian: kazaljka — needle or dial on a meter
  • Serbo-Croatian: cajger — needle or dial on a meter
  • Spanish: índex — needle or dial on a meter
  • Spanish: índice — needle or dial on a meter
  • Swedish: indikator — needle or dial on a meter
  • Telugu: సూచిక (sūcika) — needle or dial on a meter
  • Bulgarian: индикатор (indikator) — chemical
  • Finnish: indikaattori — chemical
  • Greek: δείκτης (deíktis) — chemical
  • Hungarian: indikátor — chemical
  • Hungarian: savjelző — chemical
  • Hungarian: lúgjelző — chemical
  • Hungarian: jelzőanyag — chemical
  • Latvian: indikators — chemical
  • Māori: taetohu — chemical
  • Norwegian: indikator — chemical
  • Polish: wskaźnik — chemical
  • Polish: indykator — chemical
  • Portuguese: indicador — chemical
  • Romanian: indicator — chemical
  • Russian: индика́тор (indikátor) — chemical
  • Swedish: indikator — chemical
  • Dutch: indicator — indicative animal or plant
  • Finnish: indikaattorilaji — indicative animal or plant
  • Hungarian: indikátorfaj — indicative animal or plant
  • Hungarian: indikátorszervezet — indicative animal or plant
  • Polish: wskaźnik — indicative animal or plant
  • Portuguese: indicador — indicative animal or plant
  • Bulgarian: показател (pokazatel) — economic measure
  • Czech: ukazatel — economic measure
  • Danish: nøgletal — economic measure
  • Danish: indikator — economic measure
  • Dutch: indicator — economic measure
  • Finnish: indikaattori — economic measure
  • Hungarian: jelzőszám — economic measure
  • Hungarian: mérőszám — economic measure
  • Hungarian: indikátor — economic measure
  • Hungarian: sarokszám — economic measure
  • Hungarian: mutató — economic measure
  • Latvian: rādītājs — economic measure
  • Latvian: indikators — economic measure
  • Norwegian: indikator — economic measure
  • Polish: wskaźnik — economic measure
  • Portuguese: indicador — economic measure
  • Romanian: indicator — economic measure
  • Russian: указа́тель (ukazátelʹ) — economic measure
  • Russian: индика́тор (indikátor) — economic measure
  • Swedish: indikator — economic measure
  • Telugu: సూచిక (sūcika) — economic measure
  • Afrikaans: flikkerlig — turn signal
  • Afrikaans: rigtingwyser — turn signal
  • Armenian: թարթիչ (tʻartʻičʻ) — turn signal
  • Bulgarian: мигач (migač) — turn signal
  • Catalan: indicador de gir — turn signal
  • Catalan: intermitent — turn signal
  • Chinese Mandarin: 方向燈 /方向灯 (fāngxiàngdēng) — turn signal
  • Chinese Mandarin: 指揮燈 /指挥灯 (zhǐhuīdēng) — turn signal
  • Chinese Mandarin: 方向指示燈 /方向指示灯 (fāngxiàng zhǐshìdēng) — turn signal
  • Czech: blinkr — turn signal
  • Danish: blinklys — turn signal
  • Danish: retningsviser — turn signal
  • Dutch: richtingaanwijzer — turn signal
  • Dutch: clignoteur — turn signal
  • Faroese: blunkljós — turn signal
  • Finnish: suuntavilkku — turn signal
  • French: clignotant — turn signal
  • French: signofile — turn signal
  • Galician: intermitente — turn signal
  • German: Blinker — turn signal
  • German: Blinklicht — turn signal
  • German: Fahrtrichtungsanzeiger — turn signal
  • German: Blinkleuchte — turn signal
  • Greek: δείκτης πορείας (deíktis poreías) — turn signal
  • Hebrew: פנס איתות (panás itút) — turn signal
  • Hebrew: וינקר (vínker) — turn signal
  • Hungarian: index — turn signal
  • Hungarian: irányjelző — turn signal
  • Icelandic: stefnuljós — turn signal
  • Indonesian: lampu sein — turn signal
  • Irish: treotháscaire — turn signal
  • Italian: freccia — turn signal
  • Japanese: 方向指示器 (hōkōshijiki) — turn signal
  • Japanese: ウインカー (uinkā) — turn signal
  • Korean: 방향 지시등 (banghyang jisideung) — turn signal
  • Korean: 깜빡이 (kkamppagi) — turn signal
  • Latvian: gaismas signālierīce — turn signal
  • Latvian: rādītājs — turn signal
  • Macedonian: трепкач (trepkač) — turn signal
  • Norwegian Bokmål: blinklys — turn signal
  • Norwegian Bokmål: retningsviser — turn signal
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: blinklys — turn signal
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: blinkljos — turn signal
  • Polish: kierunkowskaz — turn signal
  • Portuguese: seta — turn signal
  • Portuguese: pisca-pisca — turn signal
  • Portuguese: pisca — turn signal
  • Romanian: semnalizator — turn signal
  • Russian: поворо́тник (povorótnik) — turn signal
  • Russian: указа́тель (ukazátelʹ) — turn signal
  • Scottish Gaelic: solas-tionndaidh — turn signal
  • Serbo-Croatian: žmigavac — turn signal
  • Serbo-Croatian: migavac — turn signal
  • Spanish: direccional — turn signal
  • Spanish: intermitente — turn signal
  • Spanish: luz intermitente — turn signal
  • Spanish: luz de giro — turn signal
  • Spanish: indicador — turn signal
  • Spanish: guiñador — turn signal
  • Spanish: señalero — turn signal
  • Spanish: guiño — turn signal
  • Spanish: guiñe — turn signal
  • Spanish: luz direccional — turn signal
  • Spanish: luz de cruce — turn signal
  • Spanish: luz señaladora — turn signal
  • Swedish: körriktningsvisare — turn signal
  • Swedish: blinker — turn signal
  • Swedish: blinkljus — turn signal
  • Thai: ไฟเลี้ยว (fai líeow) — turn signal
  • Turkish: sinyal — turn signal
  • Ukrainian: індика́тор (indykátor) — turn signal
  • Welsh: cyfeiriwr — turn signal
Real reading context

indicator in complete knowledge articles