serving to distribute, assign, allot, or divide; characterized by or pertaining to distribution.
2.
Grammar. referring to the members of a group individually, as the adjectives each and every.
3.
Logic. (of a term) distributed in a given proposition.
4.
Mathematics.
a.
(of a binary operation) having the property that terms in an expression may be expanded in a particular way to form an equivalent expression, as a(b + c) = ab + ac.
b.
having reference to this property: distributive law for multiplication over addition.
c.
(of a lattice) having the property that for any three elements, the intersection of the first element with the union of the others is equal to the intersection of the first element with each of the others.
–noun
5.
a distributive word or expression.
[Origin: 1425–75; late ME distributif < MF < LL distribūtīvus (see distribute, -ive)]
Mathematics Of or relating to a rule that the same product results in multiplication when performed on a set of numbers as when performed on members of the set individually. If a × (b + c) = a × b + a × c, then × is distributive over +.
Grammar Referring to each individual or entity of a group separately rather than collectively, as every in the sentence Every employee attended the meeting.
distributiveAudio Help (dĭ-strĭb'yə-tĭv) Pronunciation Key
Relating to the property of multiplication over division which states that applying multiplication to a set of quantities that are combined by addition yields the same result as applying multiplication to each quantity individually and then adding those results together. Thus 2 × (3 + 4) is equal to (2 × 3) + (2 × 4). See also associative, commutative.
Dis*trib"u*tive\, a. [Cf. F. distributif.]1. Tending to distribute; serving to divide and assign in portions; dealing to each his proper share. "Distributive justice." --Swift. 2. (Logic) Assigning the species of a general term. 3. (Gram.) Expressing separation; denoting a taking singly, not collectively; as, a distributive adjective or pronoun, such as each, either, every; a distributive numeral, as (Latin) bini (two by two). Distributive operation (Math.), any operation which either consists of two or more parts, or works upon two or more things, and which is such that the result of the total operation is the same as the aggregated result of the two or more partial operations. Ordinary multiplication is distributive, since a [times] (b + c) = ab + ac, and (a + b) [times] c = ac + bc. Distributive proportion. (Math.) See Fellowship.
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Audio Help [di-strib-yuh-tiv] Pronunciation Key 
