distributive property

American  

[dih-strib-yuh-tiv prop-er-tee] / dɪˈstrɪb yə tɪv ˌprɒp ər ti /

noun

1. Mathematics. the property that terms in an expression may be expanded in a particular way to form an equivalent expression.

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Etymology

Origin of distributive property

First recorded in 1810–15

Example Sentences

Some students find it helpful to draw in arrows to remind them how to use the distributive property.

From Textbooks • Apr. 22, 2020

If the expression inside the parentheses cannot be simplified, the next step would be multiply using the distributive property, which removes the parentheses.

From Textbooks • Apr. 22, 2020

Scalar multiplication of vectors satisfies the distributive property, and the zero vector acts as an additive identity.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

To multiply polynomials, use the distributive property to multiply each term in the first polynomial by each term in the second.

From Textbooks • Feb. 13, 2015

For everyday numbers to make sense, they have to have something called the distributive property, which is best seen through an example.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife