cumulative

[ kyoo-myuh-luh-tiv, -ley-tiv ]

/ ˈkyu myə lə tɪv, -ˌleɪ tɪv /

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adjective

increasing or growing by accumulation or successive additions: the cumulative effect of one rejection after another.

formed by or resulting from accumulation or the addition of successive parts or elements.

of or relating to interest or dividends that, if not paid when due, become a prior claim for payment in the future: cumulative preferred stocks.

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Origin of cumulative

First recorded in 1595–1605; cumulate + -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM cumulative

cu·mu·la·tive·ly, adverbcu·mu·la·tive·ness, nounun·cu·mu·la·tive, adjective

Words nearby cumulative

cum new, cumquat, cumshaw, cumulate, cumulation, cumulative, cumulative distribution function, cumulative evidence, cumulative scoring, cumulative voting, cumulet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cumulative in a sentence

Also in 2019, Thompson was honored with the John Chancellor Award, awarded each year to a reporter of “courage and integrity” for their cumulative achievements.
ProPublica Announces Six Staff Promotions, Creates New Masthead Team|by ProPublica|September 8, 2020|ProPublica
We have been calling out these attacks as they happen and pointing to the cumulative record as needed throughout the last three and a half years.
Facing Trump’s LGBTQ outreach, advocates hold firm on plan to show his record|Chris Johnson|September 2, 2020|Washington Blade
Over 6 million of them were creators, and the cumulative number of podcasts uploaded to the platform hit a new record high of 215 million.
Podcast is social: How China’s Lizhi makes audio interactive|Rita Liao|August 28, 2020|TechCrunch
Participants answered questions about their mental health and overall well-being, and indicated whether they had experienced cumulative lifetime adversities, including a serious illness or divorce in the family.
Puberty can repair the brain’s stress responses after hardship early in life|Esther Landhuis|August 28, 2020|Science News

Somewhere in that mountain of data, there should be one or more measures of cumulative training load that beat mileage as a predictor of injury risk.
Stop Counting Your Running Mileage|Alex Hutchinson|August 28, 2020|Outside Online
Of course the participants of the sport are at higher risk for the cumulative effects of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.
The MMA Fighters Have Gone Crazy: ‘Mayhem’ Miller the Latest in a Long Line of Psycho Pugilists|Robert Silverman|October 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yet the cumulative efforts of this massive force had virtually no impact on the course of the war.
Should the Military Pull All Forces Out of Afghanistan After 2014?|Daniel L. Davis|February 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In fact, this number represents the cumulative number of deaths in the U.S. from people diagnosed with AIDS, through 2010.
Weed Could Block H.I.V.’s Spread. No, Seriously.|Abby Haglage|February 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 2010 the cumulative number of deaths from HIV in the U.S. was 636,048, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Weed Could Block H.I.V.’s Spread. No, Seriously.|Abby Haglage|February 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Scientists have shown that the impact of repetitive concussions is cumulative--one builds on the other.
What's Really Killing Athletes With Concussions?|Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Tej Azad|December 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
More recently the cumulative system of voting has come into general favor.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
Synaptic cells summed and integrated, cancelled and compared and with saucy assurance sent the findings on toward Cumulative.
We're Friends, Now|Henry Hasse
The cumulative force of events had made him once more profoundly uncertain.
The Hidden Places|Bertrand W. Sinclair
It is an insinuating and insidious ailment and its progress is cumulative.
The Eugenic Marriage, Vol. 3 (of 4)|W. Grant Hague
Furthermore, the Homestead Act of 1862 gave new and cumulative impetus to the immigration which sought farming lands.
The Scandinavian Element in the United States|Kendric Charles Babcock

British Dictionary definitions for cumulative

cumulative

/ (ˈkjuːmjʊlətɪv) /

adjective

growing in quantity, strength, or effect by successive additions or gradual stepscumulative pollution

gained by or resulting from a gradual building upcumulative benefits

finance

(of preference shares) entitling the holder to receive any arrears of dividend before any dividend is distributed to ordinary shareholders
(of dividends or interest) intended to be accumulated if not paid when due

statistics

(of a frequency) including all values of a variable either below or above a specified value
(of error) tending to increase as the sample size is increased

Derived forms of cumulative

cumulatively, adverbcumulativeness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

cumulative

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Origin of cumulative

OTHER WORDS FROM cumulative

Words nearby cumulative

Words related to cumulative

How to use cumulative in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cumulative

Derived forms of cumulative