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.
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Origin of accretion
OTHER WORDS FROM accretion
ac·cre·tive, ac·cre·tion·ar·y, adjectivenon·ac·cre·tion, nounnon·ac·cre·tive, adjectiveWords nearby accretion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences 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 process is not accretive, but exfoliatory—a continual movement from within outwards.
Civilisation: Its Cause and Cure|Edward CarpenterArchitectural 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
Derived forms of accretion
accretive or accretionary, adjectiveWord 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 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.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Scientific 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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.