burgeon

[ bur-juhn ]

See synonyms for: burgeon burgeoning on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

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 by out, forth).

verb (used with object)

to put forth, as buds.

noun

a bud; sprout.

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

Also bour·geon .

usage note For burgeon

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 words for burgeon

1	bloom, blossom, mushroom, thrive

See synonyms for burgeon on Thesaurus.com

Words Nearby burgeon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use burgeon in a sentence

The leaves burgeon on the branches in the serial order that gives to each its share of sun and rain.
My Friends at Brook Farm | John Van Der Zee Sears
Then the tree began to bud and burgeon with gifts, and the rare glories of colour crept in upon the snows of winter.
The Art of Entertaining | M. E. W. Sherwood
Her heart expanded, her soul seemed to burgeon and to bloom.
Basil Everman | Elsie Singmaster
Ale in a Saxon rumkin then, makes valor burgeon in tall men.
The Works of Charles Lamb in Four Volumes, Volume 4 | Charles Lamb
Unless a writer feels free, things will not come to him, he cannot burgeon on any subject whatsoever.
Guide to Life and Literature of the Southwest | J. Frank Dobie

British Dictionary definitions for burgeon

burgeon

bourgeon

/ (ˈbɜːdʒən) /

verb

(often foll by forth or out) (of a plant) to sprout (buds)
(intr ; often foll by forth or out) to develop or grow rapidly; flourish

noun

a bud of a plant

Origin of burgeon

C13: from Old French burjon, perhaps ultimately from Late Latin burra shaggy cloth; from the downiness of certain buds

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

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