Showing results for "derived"

• past participle of derive.
• past tense form of derive.

derived

American  

[dih-rahyvd] / dɪˈraɪvd /

adjective

1. received, obtained, or arising from a particular source or in a particular way.

   The relationship between the root word and the derived form is often metaphorical.

   With ingredients that are 100% naturally derived, we can proudly say our lotion is vegan, cruelty-free, and ecofriendly.

2. dependent on or generated by something more basic; secondary.

   The demand for a piece of capital equipment is a derived demand, as it stems directly from the demand for whatever it helps to produce.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of derive.

Other Word Forms

• self-derived
  adjective
• well-derived
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of derived

derive ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

When something is derived from something else, it is made from that. Ham is derived from pork, and the active ingredient in aspirin is derived from the bark of the willow tree. It's best to use derived when you can still see the parts of the original in something. Some people believe baseball was derived from the game of cricket. Both games involve batting and runners, but cricket was around first. Derived is also the past tense of the verb, derive, which can mean to figure out or get. After six tries, Lucia derived the answer to the difficult math problem.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

derived

The BEA previously derived its legal data from an unpublished survey in the consumer-price index that had an unusually small sample size.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

One factor to watch out for however, is that many companies, including Western ones, are diverting to much cheaper forms of AI, derived from Chinese models that are provided freely on to the market.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

“My success in life has not been derived from superior abilities, or extensive knowledge, a very small and scanty share of either having fallen to my lot,” Willing wrote in a short autobiography in 1786.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

FCC, a 1990s case that affirmed the constitutionality of regulations derived from the scarcity of broadcast licenses, despite the rise of cable television at that point.

From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026

Other tributaries swelled his happiness; he still derived satisfaction from the thought of his first—the best in his year he was told.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan