addition
noun
Simple meaning
the action of putting something new, or an arithmetic sum
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhdishuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əˈdɪʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The act of adding one thing to another
“The addition of flowers created a pleasing effect.”
A quantity that is added
“There was an addition to property taxes this year.”
uncountable
The act of adding anything.
The arithmetic operation of summing; calculating the sum of two or more numbers
uncountablearithmetic
The arithmetic operation of adding.
A component that is added to something to improve it
“The addition of a bathroom was a major improvement.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The act of adding one thing to another
This meaning of 'addition' is about adding something extra, making something larger or more complete. It often implies a positive or neutral change. Compare it with 'supplement,' which often implies making up for a deficiency.
“The addition of flowers created a pleasing effect.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
Construction plans
“The family decided on a large addition to their existing house.”
Cooking instructions
“The addition of spices enhanced the flavor of the soup.”
Project updates
“His valuable addition to the team greatly improved morale.”
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “addition of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: addition of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Adding / quantitynoun
“The addition of flowers created a pleasing effect.”
Componentnoun
“The addition of a bathroom was a major improvement.”
More ways to use addition
- “The addition of flowers created a pleasing effect.”noun
- “The addition of a bathroom was a major improvement.”noun
- “There was an addition to property taxes this year.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
In addition, by way of addition.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A chemical reaction in which one molecule is added to another.
An Apocryphal book consisting of text added to the Book of Esther.
The addition of matrices.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: adding one thing to another
Antonyms
Sense: adding one thing to another
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.