- present participle of grow.
growing
Americanadjective
-
becoming greater in quantity, size, extent, or intensity.
growing discontent among industrial workers.
-
having or showing life.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of growing
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English growende. See grow, -ing 2
Explanation
A growing thing (or person) is in the process of developing, often by getting bigger. You can argue for a second helping of cake by saying, "I'm a growing kid!" Your puppy is a growing animal, changing and developing into an adult dog, and your cactus is a growing plant, even if the only evidence of that growth is one pink bloom each year. You can also use this adjective for things that increase, like your growing bank account or your growing interest in woodworking. As a noun, growing means the biological process of change and development itself: "Growing isn't always easy, but we all have to do it."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The outlook change comes as France faces economic and social pressure over its debt and growing borrowing costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
The most common version of the legend has Bean born and growing up in East Lothian, but deciding to shun an honest living and moving to South Ayrshire with a woman.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Markets across the board, however, seem to be “front-running growing concerns that there could be major and destabilizing military escalations in the Persian Gulf as early as next week,” said American Gold Exchange’s Samuelson.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
The German automaker is aiming to boost competitiveness as it grapples with a market downturn in China, intensifying competition, and growing pressure from Chinese brands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
My instinct was always to hoard it—Betsie was growing so very weak!
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
