growth

American  

[grohth] / groʊθ /

noun

• growths
  plural

1. the act or process, or a manner of growing; development; gradual increase.

   Synonyms:

   expansion, augmentation

   Antonyms:

   decrease, decline

2. size or stage of development.

   It hasn't yet reached its full growth.

3. completed development.

4. development from a simpler to a more complex stage.

   the growth of ritual forms.

5. development from another but related form or stage.

   the growth of the nation state.

6. something that has grown or developed by or as if by a natural process.

   a growth of stubborn weeds.

   Synonyms:

   outgrowth, result

7. Pathology. an abnormal increase in a mass of tissue, as a tumor.

   Synonyms:

   excrescence

8. origin; source; production.

   onions of English growth.

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adjective

1. of or denoting a business, industry, or equity security that grows or is expected to grow in value over a long period of time.

   a growth industry; a growth stock.

growth British  

/ ɡrəʊθ /

noun

1. the process or act of growing, esp in organisms following assimilation of food

2. an increase in size, number, significance, etc

3. something grown or growing

   a new growth of hair

4. a stage of development

5. any abnormal tissue, such as a tumour

6. (modifier) of, relating to, causing or characterized by growth

   a growth industry

   growth hormone

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growth Scientific  

/ grōth /

1. An increase in the size of an organism or part of an organism, usually as a result of an increase in the number of cells. Growth of an organism may stop at maturity, as in the case of humans and other mammals, or it may continue throughout life, as in many plants. In humans, certain body parts, like hair and nails, continue to grow throughout life.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pregrowth
  noun
• regrowth
  noun
• supergrowth
  noun
• antigrowth
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• growths
  plural

Etymology

Origin of growth

First recorded in 1550–60; see grow, -th ¹; probably cognate with Old Norse grōthr

Explanation

The noun growth is the process of something becoming bigger. If you mentioned the growth of your family, you might mean that babies were born or people got married, increasing your family's size. Growth is an increase in physical size, like the growth of a sapling into a mature tree. There are other kinds of growth, like your sister's personal growth since she started to meditate every day. Growth can also mean something that has grown, like a growth of stubble on your dad's face or a cancerous growth that needs to be removed surgically. The Old English root word is growan, "to grow or flourish."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

growth growths

McDonald’s, which has reported sluggish sales growth in recent months and declining traffic, earlier this month appointed a new president of its U.S. operations, Skye Anderson.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Capex growth is based on trailing 12-month expenditures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

That compared with the 0.5% expansion recorded in the first quarter and the 0.5% growth expected in a survey of economists by data provider Quick.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

"Our study suggests that merchant acceptance is not just a result of UPI growth, but one of its key drivers," Motheram says.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Somehow the growth made me think other things had changed too.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

Steroids that reduce inflammation and suppress malignant growths.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026

These thread like growths, known as filaments, would keep extending until they created a short circuit and destroyed the pixel.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 4, 2026

Sloan is currently waiting for a mastectomy, which requires the removal or one or both of the breasts as a method of treating or preventing future cancer growths.

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026

At the time, she said she learned she had non-cancerous growths on her vocal cords.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2026

“His jaws are like a bed of spice, growths of aromatic plants; his lips are roses, dripping with flowing myrrh.”

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Related Words

• advance
• advancement
• expansion
• gain
• hike
• improvement
• increase
• production
• prosperity
• rise
• success
• surge