burgeon
Americanverb (used without object)
-
burgeons,
present (3rd person singular)
-
burgeoned,
past participle, past
-
burgeoning
present participle
-
to grow or develop quickly; flourish.
The town burgeoned into a city. He burgeoned into a fine actor.
-
to be brimming or filled to bursting; abound (usually followed by with).
All the new students are burgeoning with energy and potential. The kitchen drawers were burgeoning with tea towels.
-
to begin to grow, as a bud; put forth buds, shoots, etc., as a plant (often followed byout, forth ).
verb (used with object)
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burgeons,
present (3rd person singular)
-
burgeoned,
past participle, past
-
burgeoning
present participle
noun
verb
-
(of a plant) to sprout (buds)
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(intr; often foll by forth or out) to develop or grow rapidly; flourish
noun
Usage
The two senses of burgeon, “to bud” ( The maples are burgeoning ) and “to grow or flourish” ( The suburbs around the city have been burgeoning under the impact of commercial growth ), date from the 14th century. Today the sense “to grow or flourish” is the more common. Occasionally, objections are raised to the use of this sense, perhaps because of its popularity in journalistic writing.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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burgeonsimple
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burgeonssimple
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have burgeonedperfect
-
has burgeonedperfect
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am burgeoningprogressive
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are burgeoningprogressive
-
is burgeoningprogressive
-
have been burgeoningperfect progressive
-
has been burgeoningperfect progressive
Past
-
burgeonedsimple
-
had burgeonedperfect
-
was burgeoningprogressive
-
were burgeoningprogressive
-
had been burgeoningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of burgeon
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English noun burjon, burion “shoot, bud,” from Anglo-French burjun, burg(e)on; Old French burjon, from unattested Vulgar Latin burriōne(m), accusative of unattested burriō, derivative of Late Latin burra “wool, fluff“ ( cf. bourrée, bureau), presumably from the down covering certain buds; verb derivative of the noun
Explanation
Use the verb burgeon to describe something that is growing, expanding, and flourishing. If you have a green thumb, in the spring your flower gardens may burgeon. If you don't have a green thumb, your collection of plastic plants may burgeon. Although burgeon means to grow and flourish, it doesn't necessarily have to apply only to plants. Your town can have burgeoning downtown development. Your tiny retirement account can burgeon into an excellent emergency fund if you invest even a small amount each month. You may have a burgeoning career as a villain if you overthrow a planet by using your mind-controlling ray gun on the populace.
Vocabulary lists containing burgeon
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Vernal Vocabulary of Spring
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Even beyond the pandemic, he feels optimistic that the business will continue to burgeon — especially in the toilet-paper-loving U.S., where he sees a broad horizon for growth, especially among environmentally conscious consumers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2021
But theorists have had a hard time modeling how the smoldering fusion flares would burgeon into an all-consuming detonation.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 4, 2020
As a result, the second joey, after it is born and has grown in the pouch, will be exiting the pouch around the time that spring grasses burgeon, when there is plenty to eat.
From New York Times ● Mar. 2, 2020
The season’s traditions burgeon with messages of brotherhood and good will.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 23, 2019
If I could only burgeon out of all that hinders me!
From The Wheels of Chance: a Bicycling Idyll by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Lithium ion batteries are expected to remain the dominant battery chemistry as the industry burgeons, especially in transportation.
From Reuters ● Aug. 6, 2021
The music burgeons and recedes, with different instrumental groups sometimes at odds with each other, sometimes in sync.
From New York Times ● Nov. 26, 2020
Its emphasis falls on the folly of killing the thing that you wish would endure; terror burgeons in the gap between what was desired and what was achieved.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 21, 2019
His childlike curiosity burgeons into an adolescent’s need for experimentation and, finally, independence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2017
Madame Manec’s energy, Marie-Laure is learning, is extraordinary; she burgeons, shoots off stalks, wakes early, works late, concocts bisques without a drop of cream, loaves with less than a cup of flour.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Meanwhile, state-supported pre-K and child-care programs have burgeoned, completely disconnected from Head Start.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
They acted, in effect, as lower court federal judges, until business and commerce and the law burgeoned.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2025
But as Jiang’s fame burgeoned, criticism and scepticism surrounding her skills also started to bubble.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2024
As the war in Gaza nears the six-month mark, the humanitarian situation has burgeoned into a full-blown crisis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2024
The hedges burgeoned, and the fields were heavy with bounty.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
"We're building Nike for the long term," Chief Executive Elliot Hill said during a conference call in which he touted the company's burgeoning relationship with women's basketball star Caitlin Clark.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
But she’s just one of a burgeoning group of Christian influencers, most of them fairly young, who hold themselves out as experts on marriage.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
Ortega began acting as a child, and her burgeoning career eventually required her to spend significant amounts of time in Los Angeles.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
Secondly, Texas has a huge and growing appetite for electricity, driven by a burgeoning population.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
The thought filled his chest with chaos: something like panic, burgeoning into something like hope.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
