accretion

[ uh-kree-shuh n ]

/ əˈkri ʃən /

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.

Nearby words

accrementition, accrescence, accrescent, accrete, accretio cordis, accretion, accretion disk, accretionary growth, accretionary wedge, accrington, accroach

Origin of accretion

1605–15; < Latin accrētiōn- (stem of accrētiō), equivalent to accrēt(us), past participle of accrēscere to grow (ac- ac- + crē- grow + -tus past participle suffix) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms

ac·cre·tive, ac·cre·tion·ar·y, adjectivenon·ac·cre·tion, nounnon·ac·cre·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for accretive

If we willed it, we could not prevent 'an institutional race' from absorbing one which has no accretive principle of growth.
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 2, No 3, September, 1862|Various
The process is not accretive, but exfoliatory—a continual movement from within outwards.
Civilisation: Its Cause and Cure|Edward Carpenter
Architectural peculiarities and appointments are ever accretive properties with the novelist of imagination and latitude.
The Key to the Bront Works|John Malham-Dembleby

British Dictionary definitions for accretive

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

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

Medicine definitions for accretive

accretion

[ ə-krē′shən ]

n.

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.

Science definitions for accretive

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.