burgeon

American  

[bur-juhn] / ˈbɜr dʒən /

Also bourgeon

verb (used without object)

1. to grow or develop quickly; flourish.

   The town burgeoned into a city. He burgeoned into a fine actor.

   Synonyms:

   thrive, mushroom, blossom, bloom

2. 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.

3. to begin to grow, as a bud; put forth buds, shoots, etc., as a plant (often followed byout, forth ).

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verb (used with object)

1. to put forth, as buds.

noun

1. a bud; sprout.

burgeon British  

/ ˈbɜːdʒən /

verb

1. (of a plant) to sprout (buds)

2. (intr; often foll by forth or out) to develop or grow rapidly; flourish

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noun

1. a bud of a plant

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.

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“ ( bourrée, bureau ), presumably from the down covering certain buds; verb derivative of the noun

Example Sentences

Private credit has burgeoned into a $1 trillion market, fueled by institutional and more recently wealthy individual investors seeking higher yields than in the public markets, with little apparent extra risk.

From Barron's

But supporters point to his success turning Tesla into an EV powerhouse and SpaceX into the dominant player in the burgeoning space economy as examples of what can happen when Musk succeeds.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the halls of CERAWeek, where around 10,000 experts and executives converged, attendees debated the fastest way to feed the burgeoning technology's massive energy demands, despite carbon neutrality pledges.

From Barron's

A burgeoning class wanted to experience political freedom along with economic and cultural freedom.

From The Wall Street Journal

Still, by forgoing any Jewish characters when there was already a burgeoning transplanted minority — all we see is a kibbutz being erected in the far distance — seems like too careful an avoidance of contextual reality.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• prosper
• snowball
• sprout