A '''cycloaddition''' is a [[pericyclic]] [[chemical reaction]], in which "two or more unsaturated molecules (or parts of the same molecule) combine with the formation of a cyclic adduct in which there is a net reduction of the bond multiplicity." The resulting reaction is a [[cyclization]] reaction. Many but not all cycloadditions are [[Concerted reaction|concerted]] and thus [[pericyclic]].<ref name="goldbook">{{cite webCitation|title=cycloaddition|url=httphttps://goldbook.iupac.org/html/C/C01496.html|titlework=Cycloaddition|last=InternationalIUPAC UnionCompendium of PureChemical andTerminology|publisher=IUPAC|doi=10.1351/goldbook.C01496|access-date=2018-10-13}}</ref> AppliedNonconcerted Chemistrycycloadditions (IUPAC)are not pericyclic.<ref>{{Citation|accessdatetitle=26pericyclic Februaryreaction|url=https://goldbook.iupac.org/html/P/P04491.html|work=IUPAC 2014Compendium of Chemical Terminology|publisher=IUPAC|doi=10.1351/goldbook.P04491|access-date=2018-10-13}}</ref> As a class of [[addition reaction]], cycloadditions permit carbon–carbon bond formation without the use of a [[nucleophile]] or [[electrophile]].
Cycloadditions can be described using two systems of notation. An older but still common notation is based on the size of linear arrangements of atoms in the reactants. It uses [[parentheses]]: (''i'' + ''j'' + …) where the variables are the numbers of linear atoms in each reactant. The product is a cycle of size (''i'' + ''j'' + …). In this system, the standard [[Diels-Alder reaction]] is a (4 + 2)-cycloaddition, the [[1,3-dipolar cycloaddition]] is a (3 + 2)-cycloaddition and [[cyclopropanation]] of a carbene with an alkene a (2 + 1)-cycloaddition.<ref name=goldbook />
