IBPS Clerk key terms

A word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word in the same language, used in vocabulary questions and in choosing the closest word in context.

A word that expresses the opposite meaning of another word, such as 'scarce' for 'abundant', and is commonly tested through direct vocabulary questions.

A fixed group of words whose meaning cannot be worked out from the individual words, such as 'to bite the bullet'; tests ask for its correct meaning.

A passage with some words or phrases removed and replaced by blanks, where the candidate must choose the option that fits each blank grammatically and contextually.

A set of numbered sentences that must be rearranged into a coherent paragraph; clues include pronouns, connectors, chronological order and repeated topic words.

A conclusion drawn from information in a passage even though it is not stated directly, based on evidence and logical implication rather than personal opinion.

The grammar rule that a verb must match its subject in number and person, so a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb.

Interest calculated only on the original principal for the whole period, using the formula SI = (P × R × T) / 100, with no interest on earned interest.

Interest calculated on the principal plus previously earned interest, so the amount grows each period; the formula is A = P(1 + R/100)^T for annual compounding.

A fraction expressed out of 100, used to compare quantities; for example, 25% means 25 parts per hundred and equals the fraction 1/4.

A ratio compares two quantities of the same kind, while a proportion states that two ratios are equal, as in a:b = c:d.

The sum of a set of values divided by the number of values; it is also called the arithmetic mean and is used in speed and mixture problems.

A topic using cost price, selling price, profit or loss, and percentage profit or loss calculated on cost price unless stated otherwise.

A quantitative topic relating the amount of work, the rate of work and the time taken, often combining the rates of two or more workers.

The relationship distance = speed × time, used to solve problems on trains, boats, relative speed and average speed over a journey.

The process of reading data from tables, bar graphs, line graphs or pie charts and calculating values such as totals, averages, ratios and percentage changes.

A logical reasoning question with two or more statements and conclusions, where you decide which conclusions follow necessarily from the statements using set relationships.

A reasoning topic that describes family relationships in words or symbols and asks how two people are related or what relationship a missing person has.

A reasoning topic where words or numbers are written in a code according to a rule, and the candidate must decode a new word or encode a given word.

A puzzle where people are placed in rows, around a circle or in a line based on clues about positions, and questions ask who sits where.

A reasoning topic involving a person moving north, south, east or west, sometimes turning, where you find the final direction or shortest distance from the start.

A topic about the position of a person or object in a row or list, such as rank from the left or right, total number and positions between two people.

A reasoning question using symbols for greater than, less than, equal to or not equal to, where conclusions must be checked against combined statements.

India's central bank, which conducts monetary policy, issues currency, regulates banks and payment systems, and acts as banker to the government and lender of last resort.

The rate at which the RBI lends short-term funds to commercial banks against government securities; raising it generally makes borrowing costlier and helps control inflation.

The share of a bank's net demand and time liabilities that must be kept as cash with the RBI, earning no interest and reducing funds available for lending.

The minimum share of net demand and time liabilities that a bank must hold in safe liquid assets such as government securities, cash or gold.

National Electronic Funds Transfer, an RBI-operated retail payment system that settles fund transfers in batches and is available for small and large transactions.

Real Time Gross Settlement, a payment system for high-value transfers where each transaction is settled individually and immediately, mainly used for large business payments.

An instant payment system built by NPCI that lets users transfer money between bank accounts using a mobile app and a virtual payment address.

A mandatory process by which banks verify a customer's identity, address and source of funds to prevent fraud, money laundering and terrorist financing.

A sustained rise in the general price level of goods and services, which reduces the purchasing power of money and is measured using indices such as CPI.

Random Access Memory, the volatile working memory of a computer where active programs and data are kept temporarily; its contents are lost when power is switched off.

Read Only Memory, non-volatile storage that holds firmware and startup instructions; its contents are retained when the computer is switched off and normally cannot be changed by ordinary users.

System software that manages hardware, memory, files and programs, and provides a user interface so applications can run on a computer or mobile device.

Uniform Resource Locator, the address used to locate a web page or file on the internet, typically beginning with http:// or https:// and containing a domain name.

A unique numerical label assigned to each device on a network, used to identify the device and route data between computers; IPv4 addresses have four number groups.

A hardware or software barrier that monitors and filters incoming and outgoing network traffic according to security rules, helping block unauthorised access to a computer or network.

Malicious software such as viruses, worms, ransomware or spyware designed to damage a computer, steal data or gain unauthorised access without the user's consent.