Descriptor may refer to: An identifier In computer science: Billing descriptor, the merchant's name that appears on a credit card statement Short Payment Descriptor, a compact data format for an easy exchange of a payment information using modern electronic channels Data descriptor, a software or hardware structure describing data Visual descriptors, a representation of visual features in image or video Security descriptor, a Windows data structure containing security information Segment descriptor, used for memory addressing in x86 computer architectures Index term, also known as a "descriptor" in information retrieval File descriptor, an abstract key for accessing a file In chemistry: Molecular descriptor, which helps characterize a chemical compound Descriptor (chemistry), a prefix used to specify a chemical name In languages: Epithet, a descriptive term (word or phrase), accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage