accretive

adjective

ac·​cre·​tive ə-ˈkrē-tiv 

: relating to or characterized by accretion : produced by or growing by a series of additions of identical or similar things

an accretive process

accretive crystals [=crystals formed by accretion]

Companies need to be able to issue stock at high prices to fund acquisitions that are accretive to earnings.

—Bethany McLean

To [Ben] Zobrist, an ideal clubhouse is one where you can't tell whether a team has lost or won four games in a row. That's possible because of the steady, accretive cadence of baseball, a sport in which alternating games of no hits and three hits will win you a batting title.

—Bruce Schoenfeld

Synonyms

• accumulative
• additive
• conglomerative
• cumulative
• incremental

Examples of accretive in a Sentence

the story of his encounter with the bear was awash with accretive exaggeration, the bear becoming larger with each retelling of the tale

Recent Examples on the Web

The accretive impact on revenue and margins will be more visible from full-year 2025 earnings, the firm said. —Sofia Celeste, WWD, 5 July 2024

All buybacks will be accretive, but the magnitude of the gains is going to depend on how many shares are pulled out of circulation. —CNBC, 4 Feb. 2025

Progress Software continues to focus on its growth strategy through accretive acquisitions and maintaining high levels of profitability. —Quartz Intelligence Newsroom, Quartz, 21 Jan. 2025

Zoom out: Other bets in biotech or AI are less directly accretive but speak to the broader role Ardoino sees Tether playing in the future. —Lucinda Shen, Axios, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined above