commutative
adjective
com路mu路ta路tive
| \ k蓹-藞my眉-t蓹-tiv
, 藞k盲m-y蓹-藢t膩-tiv
\
, 藞k盲m-y蓹-藢t膩-tiv
\
Definition of commutative
1
: of, relating to, or showing commutation
2
: of, relating to, having, or being the property that a given mathematical operation and set have when the result obtained using any two elements of the set with the operation does not differ with the order in which the elements are used
a commutative group addition of the positive integers is commutative
Examples of commutative in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Like the quaternions, octonion multiplication is not commutative. — Quanta Magazine, "The (Imaginary) Numbers at the Edge of Reality," 25 Oct. 2018 The elements of class groups must obey the associative and commutative properties of addition, and must include a zero element, such that zero plus any other element leaves the element unchanged. — Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine, "New Number Systems Seek Their Lost Primes," 2 Mar. 2017 Notice this means that, unlike with the real and complex numbers, multiplication of quaternions is not commutative. — Quanta Magazine, "The (Imaginary) Numbers at the Edge of Reality," 25 Oct. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'commutative.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for commutative
commutative
adjective
com路mu路ta路tive
| \ 藞k盲-my蓹-藢t膩-tiv
\
\
Kids Definition of commutative
: being a property of a mathematical operation (as addition or multiplication) in which the result does not depend on the order of the elements
The commutative property of addition states that 1 + 2 and 2 + 1 will both have a sum of 3.