distributive

adjective

dis·trib·u·tive | \ di-ˈstri-byü-tiv

, -byə-

Definition of distributive

1 : of or relating to distribution: such as

a : dealing a proper share to each of a group

b : diffusing more or less evenly

2 of a word : referring singly and without exception to the members of a group each, either, and none are distributive

3a : being an operation (such as multiplication in a(b + c) = ab + ac) that produces the same result when operating on the whole mathematical expression as when operating on each part and collecting the results

b : being or relating to a rule or property concerning a distributive operation the distributive property of multiplication with respect to addition

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Examples of distributive in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The sale money will help make up for fewer local government distributive fund dollars coming in from the state, Krieger said. — Erin Hegarty, Naperville Sun, "City council approves selling 8.2 acres of surplus land in west Naperville for $2.2 million," 6 June 2018 That included the number of staff positions, mail sent to their constituents, trips home, earmarks and other distributive spending, bill sponsorship and co-sponsorship, among others. — Danny Hayes, Washington Post, "Do women in Congress work harder than their male colleagues?," 8 Mar. 2018 The state collects the income tax, and doles it out to local government from the distributive fund. — Steve Lord, Aurora Beacon-News, "State decision may cost Aurora $2 million," 11 Aug. 2017 A non-Equity theater, Broken Nose is more egalitarian in its distributive systems. — Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, "‘At the Table’ returns, but with more seats this time," 28 June 2017 But nobody should have that power to do that and then be able to exercise distributive, control over the distribution and control over the content too. — Eliot Van Buskirk, WIRED, "Video: FCC Commissioner Addresses AT&T’s Pearl Jam Censorship," 20 Aug. 2007

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

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Dictionary Entries near distributive

distribution function

distributism

distributist

distributive

Distributive Education

distributive fault

distributive function

Statistics for distributive

Last Updated

23 Apr 2019

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The first known use of distributive was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for distributive

distributive

adjective

dis·trib·u·tive | \ di-ˈstri-byü-tiv

, -byə-\

Kids Definition of distributive

1 : of or relating to the act of giving or spreading out

2 : producing the same answer when operating on the sum of several numbers as when operating on each and collecting the results Multiplication is distributive.