reciprocal
Americanadjective
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given or felt by each toward the other; mutual.
reciprocal respect.
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given, performed, felt, etc., in return.
reciprocal aid.
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matching; corresponding; equivalent.
reciprocal privileges at other health clubs.
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Grammar. (of a pronoun or verb) expressing mutual relationship or action.
“Each other” and “one another” are reciprocal pronouns.
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inversely corresponding; opposing.
reciprocal muscles in your back.
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Mathematics. noting expressions, relations, etc., involving reciprocals.
a reciprocal function.
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Navigation. bearing in a direction 180° to a given direction; back.
noun
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something that is reciprocal to something else.
Faith and fear are reciprocals.
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Also called multiplicative inverse. Mathematics. the ratio of unity to a given quantity or expression; that by which the given quantity or expression is multiplied to produce unity.
The reciprocal of x is 1/x.
adjective
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of, relating to, or designating something given by each of two people, countries, etc, to the other; mutual
reciprocal friendship
reciprocal trade
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given or done in return
a reciprocal favour
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(of a pronoun) indicating that action is given and received by each subject; for example, each other in the sentence they started to shout at each other
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maths of or relating to a number or quantity divided into one
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nautical denoting a course or bearing that is 180° from the previous or assumed one
noun
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something that is reciprocal
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Also called: inverse. maths a number or quantity that when multiplied by a given number or quantity gives a product of one
the reciprocal of 2 is 0.5
Usage
What does reciprocal mean? Reciprocal is an adjective used to describe things that involve an action done in response to another action in a way that is equivalent to it.To perform such an action is to reciprocate, and the act of doing so is called reciprocation. For example, when someone does you a favor, you can reciprocate by doing something nice for them.The word reciprocal is typically used to describe actions, relationships, or other things that involve such actions. Synonyms include mutual, equivalent, corresponding, matching, and complementary.Reciprocal can also be used as a noun. It can be used in a general way to mean something that is equivalent to something else—similar to the term counterpart.In mathematics, it’s used as a noun in a more specific way to refer to the number by which another number must be multiplied to get a result of one. For example, the reciprocal of ½ is 2 (which, in the form of a fraction, is 2/1). In math, a reciprocal is also called an inverse.Relatedly, reciprocal can also be used as an adjective to mean opposite or inversely related (which is just about the opposite of what reciprocal is generally used to mean).Example: The two museums offer a reciprocal membership, which means it gives you visiting privileges at both.
Related Words
See mutual.
Other Word Forms
- nonreciprocal adjective
- reciprocality noun
- reciprocally adverb
- reciprocalness noun
- unreciprocal adjective
Etymology
Origin of reciprocal
First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin reciproc(us) “returning, reciprocal” + -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mexico—the U.S.’s top trading partner and a chief supplier of avocados and other produce—accounted for $9 billion in imports of the food now exempted from the reciprocal tariffs.
Instead, he pursued reciprocal trade agreements with countries, especially in the Western Hemisphere, that had a comparative advantage in producing particular goods.
The president paused the bulk of his so-called reciprocal tariffs in April because of “yippy” bond investors.
The agreement between the US and South Korea comes as leaders from both countries reached a broad trade deal earlier last month that would see reciprocal tariffs cut to 15% from 25%.
From BBC
When the president announced his reciprocal tariffs this spring, his economic team insisted there would be no exemptions to the levies.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
