addition

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noun ad·di·tion \ ə-ˈdi-shən , a- \

Definition of addition

1 :a part added (as to a building or residential section)

The addition expanded the kitchen.

2 :anything or anyone added :increase

The clerk was a recent addition to the staff.

3 :the act or process of adding

a recipe enhanced by the addition of freshly ground pepper

; especially :the operation of combining numbers so as to obtain an equivalent simple quantity

schoolchildren learning about addition and subtraction

4 :direct chemical combination of substances into a single product

— in addition

:²besides, also

The job requires a college degree and, in addition, at least two years of experience.

— in addition to

:combined or associated with :¹besides 2

In addition to soup, several salads were served.

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See addition defined for kids

Examples of addition in a Sentence

The children learned addition and subtraction.
The museum's collection includes several new additions.

Recent Examples of addition from the Web

In addition to Akhmetshin, other attendees at the meeting included Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, music publicist Rob Goldstone — who helped arrange the gathering — and a translator.

— Washington Post, "Source: Grand jury hears from lobbyist in Trump Tower confab," 31 Aug. 2017
To accompany these exhibitions, the Brauer will host a gallery talk with artist Douglas Calisch on Oct. 18, in addition to student coffee hours with Gregg Hertzlieb on Oct. 4 and art historian James Dabbert on Nov. 1.

— Post-Tribune, "Community news," 30 Aug. 2017
In addition to tracking storms, Earth observations also reveal to us a planet with warming temperatures, disappearing glaciers, and declining arctic sea ice.

— david grinspoon, The Atlantic, "Hurricane Harvey Lays Bare Our New Bargain With Nature," 30 Aug. 2017
In addition to reducing traffic, the Rematch feature seems likely to shorten wait times for people leaving the airport.

— lisa beebe, Los Angeles Magazine, "LAX Just Made It Easier to Catch a Lyft/Uber from the Airport," 30 Aug. 2017
That's in addition to money raised by Strange himself, which totaled almost $3 million through July 26.

— paul gattis, AL.com, "Mitch McConnell pours more money into Luther Strange campaign," 30 Aug. 2017
In addition to Japan and the U.S., Spinraza is approved in the European Union, Canada and Brazil, Stanley T. Crooke, Ionis chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

— bradley j. fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Ionis earns $40 million from spinal muscular atrophy drug Spinraza," 30 Aug. 2017
In addition to Smith, Florida has a statue of John Gorrie of Apalachicola, who is credited with inventing air conditioning.

— alex daugherty, miamiherald, "Florida Democrats urge state lawmakers to remove Confederate statue in U.S. Capitol," 30 Aug. 2017
In addition to facing local or state criminal charges, TSA reserves the right to levy a civil penalty of up to $7,500 for bringing a dangerous weapon like a firearm to the checkpoint.

— ruth brown, idahostatesman, "Loaded firearm found at Boise Airport security checkpoint, marking 20th in 2017," 30 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'addition.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of addition

addicion Anglo-French, from Latin addition-, additio, from addere — see add

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

addition Synonyms

Synonyms

annex, extension, penthouse

Antonyms

abatement, decline, decrease, decrement, depletion, diminishment, diminution, drop-off, fall, falloff, lessening, loss, lowering, reduction, shrinkage, step-down

Related Words

arm, ell, wing

Near Antonyms

deduction, subtraction

Other Building Terms

batten, cistern, hearth, lath, transom, wainscot

ADDITION Defined for English Language Learners

addition

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noun

Definition of addition for English Language Learners

: the act or process of joining something to something else : the act or process of adding something
mathematics : the act or process of adding numbers
: something or someone more that is included : something or someone that is added