commutative

[ kuh-myoo-tuh-tiv, kom-yuh-tey-tiv ]
/ kəˈmyu tə tɪv, ˈkɒm yəˌteɪ tɪv /

adjective

of or relating to commutation, exchange, substitution, or interchange.
Mathematics.
  1. (of a binary operation) having the property that one term operating on a second is equal to the second operating on the first, as a × b = b × a.
  2. having reference to this property: commutative law for multiplication.

Origin of commutative

1525–35; < Medieval Latin commūtātīvus, equivalent to Latin commūtāt(us) (past participle of commūtāre; see commute, -ate1) + -īvus -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM commutative

Example sentences from the Web for commutative

British Dictionary definitions for commutative

commutative
/ (kəˈmjuːtətɪv, ˈkɒmjʊˌteɪtɪv) /

adjective

relating to or involving substitution
maths logic
  1. (of an operator) giving the same result irrespective of the order of the arguments; thus disjunction and addition are commutative but implication and subtraction are not
  2. relating to this propertythe commutative law of addition

Derived forms of commutative

commutatively, adverb

Scientific definitions for commutative

commutative
[ kə-myōōtə-tĭv, kŏmyə-tā′tĭv ]

Of or relating to binary operations for which changing the order of the inputs does not change the result of the operation. For example, addition is commutative, since a + b = b + a for any two numbers a and b, while subtraction is not commutative, since a - ba - b unless both a and b are zero. See also associative distributive.