Showing results for "increasing"

• present participle of increase.

increasing

American  

[in-kree-sing] / ɪnˈkri sɪŋ /

adjective

1. growing larger or greater; enlarging; augmenting.

2. Mathematics. (of a function) having the property that for any two points in the domain such that one is larger than the other, the image of the larger point is greater than or equal to the image of the smaller point; nondecreasing.

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Usage

What does increasing mean? Increasing is an adjective that means growing or rising—becoming greater or more in number, amount, size, or in some other way. It comes from the continuous tense (-ing form) of the verb increase, which means to become greater or more in number, amount, size, or in some other way, as in Our profits will increase as demand increases. The word increased can also be used as an adjective to describe things that have risen or grown, as in an increased appetite. Example: The increasing value of the dollar.

Other Word Forms

• unincreasing
  adjective
• increasingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of increasing

First recorded in 1590–1600; see origin at increase, -ing ²

Explanation

Increasing means getting bigger or expanding. You'll be glad to have an increasing income, but perhaps less glad to have an increasing pants size. The adjective increasing describes anything that grows or becomes greater. Increasing volume from your neighbor's radio will drive you crazy, since it's getting louder and louder. If your tiny school attracts increasing numbers of new students, it's likely that new teachers will need to be hired. Increasing comes from the verb increase, or grow, with its Latin root word, increscere, "to grow upon, grow over, swell, or grow into."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

increasing

The challenge for museums now is increasing security while also staying open to the public.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Companies have faced increasing local pushback to data-center construction.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 12, 2026

At the same time, scientists have gathered increasing evidence for a 'gut-brain axis' that connects digestive health with neurodevelopmental conditions more broadly.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

AI safety protocols center mostly on teaching models to act responsibly and increasing oversight into their underlying reasoning steps during task execution—tracked within a system’s “chain of thought.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

She felt the water pressure steadily increasing, but before it became dangerous, the seabed emerged from the gloom.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

Related Words

• accelerating
• deepening
• escalating
• growing
• intensifying