additive manufacturing

noun

: 3d printing

Instead of the old approach of carving a usable part out of a large block of material, additive manufacturing builds an object up layer by layer.

—Larry Greenemeier

Examples of additive manufacturing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

CoAspire says additive manufacturing also reduces tooling requirements and labor while allowing engineers to introduce design changes without interrupting production. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 15 July 2026

One good test would be to create a national Navy Battle Depot, directing the new PAEs to immediately procure and maintain a full ship set of spares for every major type and variant of vessel in service today, using advanced manufacturing (additive manufacturing and 3D printing) where possible. — Craig Hooper, Forbes.com, 21 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

2007, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for additive manufacturing

• fracturing
• nonmanufacturing
• remanufacturing