postfix

Meanings

1. 1nouncountabletechnical

   A letter or group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning or grammatical form; a suffix.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a postfix' or 'postfixes'.

   Patterns

   • a postfix to something
   • add a postfix

   In 'happiness', '-ness' is a postfix that turns an adjective into a noun.

   Some languages use postfixes more than prefixes.

   The teacher explained how to identify a postfix in a word.

2. 2noununcountablecomputing

   A notation in computing in which an operator comes after its operands, as in '3 4 +'.

   Grammar: Uncountable when referring to the notation system; often used attributively, e.g., 'postfix notation'.

   Patterns

   • postfix notation
   • in postfix

   The calculator uses postfix notation, so you enter the numbers before the operator.

   Converting an expression to postfix can make it easier for a computer to evaluate.

   In postfix, the plus sign comes after the two numbers.

Word forms

Common combinations

postfix notation

Postfix notation is also called reverse Polish notation.

add a postfix

You can add a postfix to change the word's meaning.

common postfix

'-ly' is a common postfix in English adverbs.

Synonyms and how they differ

suffix

Suffix is the general term; postfix is more technical and often used in linguistics or computing.

ending

Ending is less formal and can refer to any final part of a word, not necessarily a meaningful unit.

Opposites

Word family

postfixation noun

The process of adding a postfix.

Commonly confused: postfix or prefix? postfix or suffix?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “postfix”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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