iterative

American  

[it-uh-rey-tiv, -er-uh-tiv] / ˈɪt əˌreɪ tɪv, -ər ə tɪv /

adjective

1. repeating; making repetition; repetitious.

2. relating to or noting a development strategy that involves a cyclical process of refining or tweaking the latest version or iteration of a product, process, or idea to make a subsequent version: The new restaurant finalized their menu after a year of diner feedback and iterative improvements.

   Website design is highly iterative.

   The new restaurant finalized their menu after a year of diner feedback and iterative improvements.

3. Grammar. frequentative.

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iterative British  

/ ˈɪtərətɪv /

adjective

1. repetitious or frequent

2. maths logic another word for recursive See recursive

3. grammar another word for frequentative

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Other Word Forms

• iteratively adverb
• iterativeness noun
• uniterative adjective

Etymology

Origin of iterative

First recorded in 1450–1500; from Late Latin iterātīvum (verbum) “frequentative (verb).” See iterate, -ive

Explanation

If your boss asks you to be iterative in your sales speech, she means she wants you to repeat the main points many times. An iteration is a repetition, so something that's iterative is a repeated appearance. When you listen to a symphony, the theme that keeps returning is iterative. You might recognize the word best from the more common reiterate, which means to restate. When after lecturing your kid sister on doing the dishes, you restate the rules of the house — wash what you dirty! — that is the iterative part of your lecture. I think she gets it.

Example Sentences

The iterative nature of war in Ukraine also demands more ability to switch buying strategies as the tech evolves.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 16, 2025

The lean startup method is an “approach emphasizing rapid experimentation, iterative development, and data-driven decision making.”

From MarketWatch • Nov. 5, 2025

Our response must be adaptive, experimental and iterative: a continuous process of design evolution, shaped by trial and error, much like nature itself.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 10, 2025

Secondly: once they decided to move, they have moved pretty quickly, albeit announcing the U-turn in iterative steps, one week after another.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2025

Within such forms, iterative optimization and learning take place as an expression of internal necessities, not as a result of adopted or imposed rules of functioning.

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai