Identifiers: meaning, definitions and examples

Use in programming or technical contexts where unique identification is needed for objects, variables, or entities.

• Variable names in programming languages act as identifiers.
• Each user is associated with a unique identifier in the database.

Commonly used in everyday situations and in contexts where something needs a formal or informal designation.

• My name is John.
• The new product line has interesting names.

Appropriate for general contexts where something needs a tag or description. Often used in everyday life or packaging.

• She put labels on all her storage boxes.
• The bottle has a label with ingredients and nutritional information.

Best used when referring to signs, marks, or characters representing ideas, objects, or relationships. Often seen in mathematics, science, or cultural texts.

• The heart is a symbol of love.
• In algebra, letters are often used as symbols for variables.

Used to refer to symbols, words, or objects that serve to uniquely identify something or someone, mainly in technical or formal contexts.

• In the database, 'user_id' is a unique identifier for each user.
• The barcode serves as an identifier for each product in the store.

Usually refers to signs, symptoms, or indicators that can show or signal the presence of something, often used in medical, scientific, or academic contexts.

• Elevated blood pressure can be a marker of heart disease.
• In linguistics, certain phonetic markers can signal a speaker's regional accent.

Refers to characteristics or attributes of a person, animal, or thing that are inherent and can describe their nature or behavior, often used in psychological, biological, or personal contexts.

• Kindness and honesty are important personality traits.
• Genetic traits like eye color are inherited from our parents.

Refers to specific characteristics that make something or someone stand out from others, often used in descriptive, biological, or comparative contexts.

• The cheetah's speed and spotted coat are its distinguishing features.
• One of the distinguishing features of this phone is its high-resolution camera.