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cumulative

 - 7 dictionary results

cu⋅mu⋅la⋅tive

  [kyoo-myuh-luh-tiv, -ley-tiv]
–adjective
1. increasing or growing by accumulation or successive additions: the cumulative effect of one rejection after another.
2. formed by or resulting from accumulation or the addition of successive parts or elements.
3. of or pertaining to interest or dividends that, if not paid when due, become a prior claim for payment in the future: cumulative preferred stocks.
Use cumulative in a Sentence
Origin:
1595–1605; cumulate + -ive

Related forms:
cu⋅mu⋅la⋅tive⋅ly, adverb
cu⋅mu⋅la⋅tive⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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cu·mu·la·tive   (kyōōm'yə-lā'tĭv, -yə-lə-tĭv)   
adj.  

  1. Increasing or enlarging by successive addition.

  2. Acquired by or resulting from accumulation.

  3. Of or relating to interest or a dividend that is added to the next payment if not paid when due.

  4. Law

    1. Supporting the same point as earlier evidence: cumulative evidence.

    2. Imposed with greater severity upon a repeat offender: cumulative punishment.

    3. Following successively; consecutive: cumulative sentences.

    4. Of or relating to the sum of the frequencies of experimentally determined values of a random variable that are less than or equal to a specified value.

    5. Of or relating to experimental error that increases in magnitude with each successive measurement.

  5. Statistics

    1. Of or relating to the sum of the frequencies of experimentally determined values of a random variable that are less than or equal to a specified value.

    2. Of or relating to experimental error that increases in magnitude with each successive measurement.

cu'mu·la'tive·ly adv., cu'mu·la'tive·ness 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.
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Word Origin & History

cumulative 
1605, from L. cumulatus, pp. of cumulare "to heap," from cumulus "heap" (see cumulus).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

cumulative

Of or relating to preferred stock and income bonds on which dividends must be paid in full before any payment of dividends is made to common stockholders. Thus, any dividends that are passed eventually must be brought up to date before common stockholders may receive payments. Nearly all issues of preferred stock are cumulative. Compare noncumulative. See also dividends in arrears.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: cu·mu·la·tive
Pronunciation: 'kyü-my&-l&-tiv, -"lA-
Function: adjective
1 : increasing by successive additions
2 : tending to prove the same point <cumulative testimony>
3 : following in time
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: cu·mu·la·tive
Pronunciation: 'kyü-my&-l&t-iv, -"lAt-
Function: adjective
: increasing in effect by successivedoses (as of a drug or poison) <cumulative poisoning by organochlorine pesticides —Jack Clincy> —cu·mu·la·tive·ly adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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cumulative cu·mu·la·tive (ky&oomacr;m'yə-lā'tĭv, -yə-lə-tĭv)
adj.

  1. Increasing or enlarging by successive addition.

  2. Acquired by or resulting from accumulation.

  3. Of or relating to the sum of the frequencies of experimentally determined values of a random variable that are less than or equal to a specified value.

  4. Of or relating to experimental error that increases in magnitude with each successive measurement.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
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