complementary distribution

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noun Linguistics.

a relation such that the members of a pair or set of phones, morphs, or other linguistic units have no environment in common, as aspirated “p” and unaspirated “p” in English, the first occurring only in positions where the second does not.

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Also called complementation.

Compare free variation.

Origin of complementary distribution

First recorded in 1930–35

Words nearby complementary distribution

complementary angles, complementary base, complementary cells, complementary color, complementary colour, complementary distribution, complementary DNA, complementary gene, complementary medicine, complementary strand, complementary wavelength

How to use complementary distribution in a sentence

He would like to set up an independent film distribution company that targets consumers directly.
William, Kate, and Jay Z’s Favorite Art Star: Alexander Gilkes' World of Rock Stars and Royalty|Tim Teeman|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But Casa Bruja remains the only independent brewer in Panama with a bottling and distribution plan.
House of the Witch: The Renegade Craft Brewers of Panama|Jeff Campagna|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To an extent, such ambitions are complementary, yet Liana is not interested in “extreme biography.”
A Novel About a Novelist ‘Like’ Naipaul|Edward Platt|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the 20th century, interstate highways provided the distribution networks for big-box retailers like Walmart.
Electricity Superhighway||October 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Despite Western efforts, distribution of ISIS propaganda is as strong as it has ever been.
ISIS Is Winning the Online Jihad Against the West|Ali Fisher, Nico Prucha|October 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Our existing poverty is purely a problem in the direction and distribution of human effort.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
Thereupon the generals hastened round the town to procure funds, and appeased the Visayos with a distribution of 1,800 pesos.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
The distribution of the Portuguese force was made wholly on the coast, while the land side was left totally unguarded.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil|Maria Graham
Barter was common, and there must have been facilities for the distribution of those goods which had their origin in Gaul.
The Towns of Roman Britain|James Oliver Bevan
He placed it in prominence, instinctively or designedly, rejecting the merely complementary parts.
Charles Baudelaire, His Life|Thophile Gautier