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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

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Example 1.137 will show how to use the distributive property to find the opposite of an expression.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

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

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

These are the commutative properties, the associative properties, the distributive property, the identity properties, and the inverse properties.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015

We must use the distributive property to multiply each term in the first polynomial by each term in the second polynomial.

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

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