accretive

adjective

ac·​cre·​tive ə-ˈkrē-tiv How to pronounce accretive (audio)
: 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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web It is expected to be immediately accretive to Numinus' revenue and gross profit, and, based on forecasts and efficiencies of scale, will shorten the timeline of Numinus' path to profitability. Jackie Bryant, Forbes, 14 Apr. 2022 The book feels, at its best, symphonic, both in its structure—four movements, the third of which is the most distinct and the last of which references the first and goes out in a brilliant burst—and in the way language echoes, builds, works its accretive magic. Cara Blue Adams, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2023 Dometic expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of this year and to be accretive to Dometic’s earnings per share in 2022. Eric Smith, Outside Online, 17 Sep. 2021 Amerirprise said the transaction is expected to be accretive in 2023 and to generate an internal rate of return of 20%. Kavita Kumar, Star Tribune, 12 Apr. 2021 Sondheim, himself a protégé of Hammerstein, took this to extremes in the ’70s, veering away from the traditional song form in favor of accretive harmonic shapes that provided rich subtext for his lyrics — so much so that critics began complaining of having nothing to hum. Vulture, 28 Mar. 2023 Eliminating packaging—that’s accretive. Alan Murray, Fortune, 1 Dec. 2022 Today, the technique is becoming positively trendy, cash flow accretive and additive to shareholder value. David Blackmon, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022 The food and beverage giant, which also makes Toblerone, Oreo and Tang, expects the transaction to be accretive to its topline in the second year following the deal and will also create cost synergies for Clif's distribution due to the company's global scale. Reuters, CNN, 21 June 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'accretive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of accretive was in 1661

Dictionary Entries Near accretive

Cite this Entry

“Accretive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accretive. Accessed 4 Jun. 2023.

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