Meaning & use

residual

adjective·Academic

Remaining after a process, event, or main part has finished; leftover.

See it in a sentence

Doctors monitored the patient for any residual weakness after the surgery.

There is still residual moisture in the basement despite the new drainage system.

A note on using this word

Residual is often used in finance for ongoing payments, such as residual income, and in statistics for the gap between an observed and predicted value.

Words with a similar meaning

remainingleftover

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Another way to use it

2. noun

An amount that remains after the main part has been used, paid, or accounted for, such as a royalty payment for reused creative work.

The actor still receives residuals whenever the old sitcom airs in reruns.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “residual”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.