indicator
Word family noun indication indicator adjective indicative indicantindicatoryverb indicate adverbindicatively
Motor vehicles, Measurement
in·di·ca·tor /ˈɪndəkeɪtə $ -ər/ ●○○ AWL noun [countableC] 
1 SIGN/INDICATIONsomething that can be regarded as a sign of something else 指示物；指示者 SYN sign All the main economic indicators suggest that trade is improving.
► see thesaurus at sign 所有主要的经济指标都表明贸易情况正在改善。
2. British EnglishBrETTC one of the lights on a car that flash to show which way the car is turning 〔汽车的〕转向指示灯 SYN American English turn signal →4 See picture on 见图 Page A2 Car 汽车 →5 see picture at 见图 car
3. TMa pointer on a machine that shows the temperature, pressure, speed etc 〔机器设备中显示温度、压力、速度等的〕指针
Examples from the Corpus
indicator• An alternative indicator of demand for labour is employers' notification of vacancies.• Good economic indicators masked widespread unease.• Four indicators were emphasized - staff student ratios, average class sizes, average student hours and average lecturer hours.• High levels of cholesterol may be an important indicator of heart disease risk.• However, it is suggested that market share is normally the most important indicator of dominance though not the only factor.• It is these positive indicators that will count in the long run.• Shortly thereafter, Odom called back to say the warning indicators had changed to an all-out attack of 2,200 missiles.
From Longman Business Dictionary
indicatorin·di·ca·tor /ˈɪndəkeɪtə-ər/ noun [countableC]ECONOMICS
a sign of the level of activity in the economy or in a particular company or financial market
→ coincident indicator → economic indicator → financial indicator → key indicator → lagging indicator → leading indicator → sentiment indicator → technical indicatorAll the main indicators suggest that trade is improving.
indicator of
→ see also barometerOrders for machine tools are considered an indicator of manufacturers’ optimism.