accretion

[ uh-kree-shuhn ]

/ əˈkri ʃən /

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See synonyms for accretion on Thesaurus.com

noun

an increase by natural growth or by gradual external addition; growth in size or extent.

the result of this process.

an added part; addition: The last part of the legend is a later accretion.

the growing together of separate parts into a single whole.

Law. increase of property by gradual natural additions, as of land by alluvion.

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Origin of accretion

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin accrētiōn- (stem of accrētiō ), equivalent to accrēt(us), past participle of accrēscere “to grow” (ac- prefix meaning “toward” + crē- “grow” + -tus past participle suffix) + -iōn- noun suffix; see ac-, -ion

OTHER WORDS FROM accretion

ac·cre·tive, ac·cre·tion·ar·y, adjectivenon·ac·cre·tion, noun

Words nearby accretion

accrementition, accrescence, accrescent, accrete, accretio cordis, accretion, accretionary growth, accretionary wedge, accretion disk, accretive, Accrington

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use accretion in a sentence

“Pebble accretion really did revolutionize the way that people thought about planet formation,” says Katherine Kretke.
The pebbled path to planets|Stephen Ornes|May 27, 2021|Science News For Students
Anders Johansen, an astronomer at Lund Observatory, in Sweden, knows a lot about pebble accretion.
The pebbled path to planets|Stephen Ornes|May 27, 2021|Science News For Students
Planet accretion also has gotten a boost from recent studies of distant stars.
The pebbled path to planets|Stephen Ornes|May 27, 2021|Science News For Students
Nearly 35,000 customers in Virginia were without power because of ice accretion on power lines, mostly in Fauquier, Culpeper, Orange, Albemarle and Louisa counties.
Here’s how much snow and ice fell in D.C. region from Wednesday’s winter storm|Jason Samenow|December 17, 2020|Washington Post

Experimental tools are available, which combine the depth of ice accretion on trees with wind speed data, to predict the level of utility disruption.
Ice storms: Inside wintertime’s dreaded, frozen mess|Jeffrey Halverson|December 2, 2020|Washington Post
It is the steady accretion of detail that may yet be the most damaging factor in the battle for British hearts and minds.
From Playboy Prince to Dirty Old Man?|Tom Sykes|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The powerful forces of gravity and magnetism channel matter into huge flattened spinning platters known as accretion disks.
The Black Hole Tango|Matthew R. Francis|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The direction of polarization for a quasar is determined by the accretion disk surrounding it.
The Black Hole Tango|Matthew R. Francis|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Their gravitational pull can draw in huge amounts of gas, which swirls in a thick donut-shaped pattern known as an accretion disk.
The Supermassive Black Hole Smokescreen|Matthew R. Francis|June 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The accretion of interest groups is not a uniquely American problem.
So What Would I Do About China?|David Frum|August 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The process of character building through accretion and elimination has been going on.
The Leaven in a Great City|Lillian William Betts
And perhaps in the end the slopes were more laden by the smaller precipitations which deposited a daily accretion.
Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921|Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury
He was celebrated, like Solomon, for his wisdom and his might; and his name became the centre of a vast accretion of legends.
The Science of Fairy Tales|Edwin Sidney Hartland
Connected with the size of larv, is the mode in which their accretion takes place.
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. III (of 4)|William Kirby
By a principle of accretion, the second or third may be added to the first form, and the third to the second.
Summary Narrative of an Exploratory Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi River, in 1820|Henry Rowe Schoolcraft

British Dictionary definitions for accretion

accretion

/ (əˈkriːʃən) /

noun

any gradual increase in size, as through growth or external addition

something added, esp extraneously, to cause growth or an increase in size

the growing together of normally separate plant or animal parts

pathol

abnormal union or growing together of parts; adhesion
a mass of foreign matter collected in a cavity

law an increase in the share of a beneficiary in an estate, as when a co-beneficiary fails to take his share

astronomy the process in which matter under the influence of gravity is attracted to and increases the mass of a celestial body. The matter usually forms an accretion disc around the accreting object

geology the process in which a continent is enlarged by the tectonic movement and deformation of the earth's crust

Derived forms of accretion

accretive or accretionary, adjective

Word Origin for accretion

C17: from Latin accretiō increase, from accrēscere. See accrue

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for accretion

accretion

[ ə-krē′shən ]

Growth or increase in size by gradual external addition, fusion, or inclusion.

Increase by addition to the periphery of material of the same nature as that already present, as in the growth of crystals.accrementition

Foreign material, such as plaque or calculus, collecting on the surface of a tooth or in a cavity.

The growing together or adherence of body parts that are normally separate.

Scientific definitions for accretion

accretion

[ ə-krē′shən ]

Geology The gradual extension of land by natural forces, as in the addition of sand to a beach by ocean currents, or the extension of a floodplain through the deposition of sediments by repeated flooding.

Astronomy The accumulation of additional mass in a celestial object by the drawing together of interstellar gas and surrounding objects by gravity.

accretion

Origin of accretion

OTHER WORDS FROM accretion

Words nearby accretion

Words related to accretion

How to use accretion in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for accretion

Derived forms of accretion

Word Origin for accretion

Medical definitions for accretion

Scientific definitions for accretion