Other forms: indicators
An indicator is the thing that points something out. On a British car it is the blinking orange light you flick on before you turn, and on the dashboard it is the small lamp that tells you the fuel is low.
Away from the road, an indicator is any measurement that shows how something is going. Unemployment, house prices and the number of empty shops are all indicators of an economy under strain, and the word takes OF: an indicator of trouble. In chemistry an indicator is a substance that changes colour to show whether a liquid is acid or alkali, which is what litmus paper is for. American English calls the car light a turn signal or a blinker. The verb is indicate and the adjective is indicative.
1nounindicatorA flashing light on a vehicle that shows which way the driver intends to turn.~2%
“He pulled out without an indicator and the taxi behind him leaned on the horn.”
synonyms: turn signal, blinker
2nounsignA sign or measurement that shows the state of something.~82%
“The number of empty shop fronts is a blunt indicator of how the town is doing.”
3nounsubstanceA substance that changes colour to show whether something is acid or alkaline.~8%
“The indicator turned pink the moment the acid touched it.”
4noundialA dial, needle or display on a machine that shows a reading.~8%
“The pressure indicator sat just below the red line all afternoon.”
Shares are an estimate: a language model read 26 sentences found in the wild and placed 25 of them on a sense (1 were unclear) — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.
indicator is a sign or device that shows something.
Also accepted in games: turn signal, blinker
Indicator is Latin almost unchanged: indicātor meant one who points out, from indicō, to point out. Behind that sits the Proto-Indo-European root deyḱ-, to show. English took indicate from the same source, so an indicator is, at root, a pointer.
Proto-Indo-European
*deyḱ-
Latin
indicātor — one who points out
English, today
indicator
From Latin indicātor (“one who points out”), from Latin indicō (“point out”). by surface analysis, indicate + -or; see indicate.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA