accretive

adjective

ac·​cre·​tive ə-ˈkrē-tiv 

: relating to or characterized by accretion : produced by or growing by a series of additions of identical or similar things

an accretive process

accretive crystals [=crystals formed by accretion]

Companies need to be able to issue stock at high prices to fund acquisitions that are accretive to earnings.

—Bethany McLean

To [Ben] Zobrist, an ideal clubhouse is one where you can't tell whether a team has lost or won four games in a row. That's possible because of the steady, accretive cadence of baseball, a sport in which alternating games of no hits and three hits will win you a batting title.

—Bruce Schoenfeld

Synonyms

• cumulative

Examples of accretive in a Sentence

the story of his encounter with the bear was awash with accretive exaggeration, the bear becoming larger with each retelling of the tale

Recent Examples on the Web

With 76 percent also saying that their per-package delivery costs have increased over the past year, 72 percent of decision-makers said e-commerce is not accretive to their profitability. —Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 2 July 2025

What governance structure can be put in place that will facilitate a seamless transition and allow the deal to be accretive over the long term? —Matt Kunkel, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025

The transaction is anticipated to be accretive to Medtronic’s gross and operating margins, and earnings per share, while enabling the NewCo to pursue focused innovation and growth strategies tailored to the diabetes market. —Joe Cornell, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025

After the deal closed, at the end of June 2015, Gannett didn’t wait very long before executing its first major accretive acquisition to create tremendous synergies. —Megan Greenwell, Rolling Stone, 5 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined above