additive

UK: /ˈædɪtɪv/ US: /ˈædɪtɪv/ ,(ad′i tiv)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

ad•di•tive /ˈædɪtɪv/   n. [countable]

1. something added to alter or improve the quality:
   food additives.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

ad•di•tive  (ad′i tiv), n. 

1. something that is added, as one substance to another, to alter or improve the general quality or to counteract undesirable properties:
   an additive that thins paint.
2. Nutrition
   • Also called food additive. a substance added directly to food during processing, as for preservation, coloring, or stabilization.
   • something that becomes part of food or affects it as a result of packaging or processing, as debris or radiation.

adj. 

3. characterized or produced by addition;
   cumulative:
   an additive process.
4. Mathematics (of a function) having the property that the function of the union or sum of two quantities is equal to the sum of the functional values of each quantity;
   linear.

• Late Latin additīvus. See additament, -ive
• 1690–1700

ad′di•tive•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

additive / ˈædɪtɪv/ adjective

1. characterized or produced by addition; cumulative

noun

1. any substance added to something to improve it, prevent deterioration, etc
2. short for food additive

Etymology: 17th Century: from Late Latin additīvus, from addere to add