exponential growth

Cultural  

1. Growth of a system in which the amount being added to the system is proportional to the amount already present: the bigger the system is, the greater the increase. (See geometric progression.)

---

Discover More

In everyday speech, exponential growth means runaway expansion, such as in population growth.

Example Sentences

Exponential growth led to increasing questions about whether organizers had veered too far from the core principles of radical inclusion, expression, participation and the pledge to “leave no trace.”

From Seattle Times • Dec. 26, 2023

Exponential growth can start very slowly and be barely noticeable for quite some time.

From Salon • Nov. 16, 2022

Exponential growth is rather more challenging when one of the prime drivers of it has closed down.

From New York Times • Mar. 11, 2022

Exponential growth is hard to wrap your head around, so here’s some perspective: If there are 5,000 omicron cases in the U.S. right now—a real possibility—by Christmas there will have been 320,000 cases.

From Slate • Dec. 17, 2021

Exponential growth may occur in environments where there are few individuals and plentiful resources, but when the number of individuals gets large enough, resources will be depleted and the growth rate will slow down.

From Textbooks • Sep. 6, 2018