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.

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Etymology

Origin of distributive property

First recorded in 1810–15

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

distributive property

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

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

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

A special case of the distributive property occurs when a sum of terms is subtracted.

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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