increment

[ in-kruh-muhnt, ing- ]

noun

1. something added or gained; addition; increase.
2. profit; gain.
3. the act or process of increasing; growth.
4. an amount by which something increases or grows:

   a weekly increment of $25 in salary.

5. one of a series of regular additions:

   You may make deposits in increments of $500.

6. Mathematics.
   1. the difference between two values of a variable; a change, positive, negative, or zero, in an independent variable.
   2. the increase of a function due to an increase in the independent variable.

increment

/ ˈɪnkrɪmənt /

noun

1. an increase or addition, esp one of a series
2. the act of increasing; augmentation
3. maths a small positive or negative change in a variable or function. Symbol: Δ, as in Δ x or Δ f

Other Words From

• in·cre·men·tal [in-kr, uh, -, men, -tl, ing-], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of increment¹

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin incrēmentum an increase, equivalent to incrē ( scere ) to grow ( increase ) + -mentum -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of increment¹

C15: from Latin incrēmentum growth, increase

Example Sentences

Most blankets come in increments of five pounds, with the most popular weights being 15, 20, and 25 pounds.

From Popular-Science

Brooks hoped inserting him into the starting lineup was one solution to get Bertans more minutes — and opportunities — but in shorter increments.

From Washington Post

What these spiders have evolved isn’t a loading-dock pulley with a wheel, but attaching a sequence of silk strands gives the tiny animals their own way of lifting heavy burdens in little increments.

From Science News

The reason so much of South Carolina’s allocation has gone unused, she said, is that the state had set aside the entire amount needed for long-term-care facilities rather than parceling that out in increments, as other states have done.

From Washington Post

Whenever he signs anything — even a monthly check to a utility company — he holds it up and pivots in 45-degree increments in front of photographers.

From Washington Post

In other words, we may never know the exact increment of increased risk for pregnant women who contract the infection.

From The Daily Beast

There is some increment there that we make possible that would not otherwise be there.

From The Daily Beast

Not enough to retire instantly to somewhere warm and beachy, but a pleasant increment to my nest egg.

From The Daily Beast

And here I found the last piece of my narrative, in the British special-forces capability known as “The Increment.”

From The Daily Beast

This increment is larger on the flooring girders than on the main ones, and on short main girders than on long ones.

From Project Gutenberg

Alexander afterward declared that Napoleon gave a verbal promise that Russia should have a substantial increment on the Danube.

From Project Gutenberg

No attempt is made to segregate the entries by year, since we are interested in the total, not the annual increment.

From Project Gutenberg

Almost two-thirds of the increment of revenue still remains as profit.

From Project Gutenberg

The effect is that any increment in the paying load very materially decreases the cost of operation per ton.

From Project Gutenberg