distributive property

American  

[dih-strib-yuh-tiv prop-er-tee] / dɪˈstrɪb jə 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.

---

Etymology

Origin of distributive property

First recorded in 1810–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

distributive property

So we use the distributive property, as shown in Example 1.132.

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

Using the distributive property as shown in Example 1.134 will be very useful when we solve money applications in later chapters.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

Therefore, if we multiply back in using the distributive property, we get the expression we had before the factoring, which is what should happen.

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