Dictionary
ad•di•tive
Pronunciation: (ad'i-tiv), [key]—
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.
a. Also called food additive. a substance added directly to food during processing, as for preservation, coloring, or stabilization.
b. something that becomes part of food or affects it as a result of packaging or processing, as debris or radiation.
—
adj.
1. characterized or produced by addition; cumulative:
an additive process.
2. Math.(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.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.