Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Nearby Entries
additives - 3 dictionary results

ad⋅di⋅tive

  [ad-i-tiv]
Use additives in a Sentence
–noun
1. something that is added, as one substance to another, to alter or improve the general quality or to counteract undesirable properties: an additive that thins paint.
2. Nutrition.
a. Also called food additive. a substance added directly to food during processing, as for preservation, coloring, or stabilization.
b. something that becomes part of food or affects it as a result of packaging or processing, as debris or radiation.
–adjective
3. characterized or produced by addition; cumulative: an additive process.
4. Mathematics. (of a function) having the property that the function of the union or sum of two quantities is equal to the sum of the functional values of each quantity; linear.
Origin:
1690–1700; < LL additīvus. See additament, -ive

Related forms:
ad⋅di⋅tive⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To additives
ad·di·tive   (ād'ĭ-tĭv)   
n.  A substance added in small amounts to something else to improve, strengthen, or otherwise alter it.
adj.  
  1. Marked by, produced by, or involving addition.
  2. Of or being any of certain primary colors of wavelengths that may be mixed with one another to produce other colors. See Table at color.
ad'di·tive·ly adv., ad'di·tiv'i·ty n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
additive   (ād'ĭ-tĭv)  Pronunciation Key 
Noun   A substance added in small amounts to something else to improve, strengthen, or otherwise alter it. Additives are used for a variety of reasons. They are added to food, for example, to enhance taste or color or to prevent spoilage. They are added to gasoline to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, and to plastics to enhance molding capability.

Adjective  
  1. Relating to the production of color by the mixing of light rays of varying wavelengths. ◇ The additive primaries red, green, and blue are those colors whose wavelengths can be mixed in different proportions to produce all other spectral colors. Compare subtractive. See Note at color.
  2. Mathematics Marked by, produced by, or involving addition.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see additives on Thesaurus | Reference