constant dollars

Cultural

A convention of statistics that measures industrial output and the like over time while controlling for changes owing to inflation. Using constant dollars usually gives a clearer view of how an enterprise is performing over time.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

For instance, during the lead-up to World War II and through its aftermath — looking at the 10 years following the Munich crisis of September 1938 — the overall U.S. market eked out lowly total returns of 35% when measured in real, constant dollars.

From MarketWatch

Since the 1920s, the so-called real return on the S&P 500, meaning the return in constant dollars, has been negative in 24% of all five-year periods.

From MarketWatch

Strip out inflation, which Vanguard expects will average between 1.6% and 2.6% a year, and you are looking at very low “real” returns, meaning returns measured in constant dollars.

From MarketWatch

During Mr. Trump’s tenure, the military budget has increased about 15 percent, reaching $705 billion in the most recent fiscal year, one of the highest levels in constant dollars since World War II.

From New York Times

Since the 1970s, wages in constant dollars have either declined or remained flat, even as the concentration of individual and corporate wealth accelerated dramatically.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023