COMPLEMENTARY DISTRIBUTION

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does complementary distribution mean? 

• COMPLEMENTARY DISTRIBUTION (noun)
  The noun COMPLEMENTARY DISTRIBUTION has 1 sense:

1. (linguistics) a distribution of related speech sounds or forms in such a way that they only appear in different contexts

  Familiarity information: COMPLEMENTARY DISTRIBUTION used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COMPLEMENTARY DISTRIBUTION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(linguistics) a distribution of related speech sounds or forms in such a way that they only appear in different contexts

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

complementary distribution; complementation

Hypernyms ("complementary distribution" is a kind of...):

dispersion; distribution (the spatial or geographic property of being scattered about over a range, area, or volume)

Domain category:

linguistics (the scientific study of language)