Main Entry:

cu·mu·la·tive

Pronunciation:

\ˈkyü-myə-lə-tiv, -ˌlā-\

Function:

adjective

Date:

1605

1 a: made up of accumulated parts b: increasing by successive additions2: tending to prove the same point <cumulative evidence>3 a: taking effect upon completion of another penal sentence <a cumulative sentence> b: increasing in severity with repetition of the offense <cumulative penalty>4: formed by the addition of new material of the same kind <a cumulative book index>5: summing or integrating overall data or values of a random variable less than or less than or equal to a specified value <cumulative normal distribution> <cumulative frequency distribution>

— cu·mu·la·tive·ly adverb

— cu·mu·la·tive·ness noun