Addings

Addings is a rarely used plural form of the noun adding, the gerund of the verb add. In modern English, the standard noun for the act of combining quantities is addition, and the plural form additions is used for multiple items that have been added. The gerund form adding is common in phrases such as “the adding of numbers” or “the process of adding features.”

Addings derives from add with the suffix -ing and appears as a noun mainly in older or nonstandard usages. In most contemporary contexts, speakers prefer addition or additions when referring to quantities that have been combined, or to the act of adding with the gerund form adding (as in the phrase above).

Usage and examples

In mathematics and everyday arithmetic, the operation is called addition. The phrase “the addings of two numbers” is nonstandard; one would ordinarily say “the addition of two numbers” or simply “the sum.” Historical or dialectal texts may occasionally show addings as a plural, but this is not typical in modern standard English.

Alternatives and guidance

For clarity, use additions when talking about multiple items that have been added, or use addition for the act of adding. The term adding is appropriate when the gerund or present participle form is needed, while addings as a plural noun is generally avoided in formal writing.

See also

addition, additions, addition properties, adder, grammar of gerunds.