growth

American  

[grohth] / groʊθ /

noun

• growths
  plural

1. the act or process, or a manner of growing; development; gradual increase.

   Synonyms:

   expansion, augmentation

   Antonyms:

   decrease, decline

2. size or stage of development.

   It hasn't yet reached its full growth.

3. completed development.

4. development from a simpler to a more complex stage.

   the growth of ritual forms.

5. development from another but related form or stage.

   the growth of the nation state.

6. something that has grown or developed by or as if by a natural process.

   a growth of stubborn weeds.

   Synonyms:

   outgrowth, result

7. Pathology. an abnormal increase in a mass of tissue, as a tumor.

   Synonyms:

   excrescence

8. origin; source; production.

   onions of English growth.

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adjective

1. of or denoting a business, industry, or equity security that grows or is expected to grow in value over a long period of time.

   a growth industry; a growth stock.

growth British  

/ ɡrəʊθ /

noun

1. the process or act of growing, esp in organisms following assimilation of food

2. an increase in size, number, significance, etc

3. something grown or growing

   a new growth of hair

4. a stage of development

5. any abnormal tissue, such as a tumour

6. (modifier) of, relating to, causing or characterized by growth

   a growth industry

   growth hormone

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growth Scientific  

/ grōth /

1. An increase in the size of an organism or part of an organism, usually as a result of an increase in the number of cells. Growth of an organism may stop at maturity, as in the case of humans and other mammals, or it may continue throughout life, as in many plants. In humans, certain body parts, like hair and nails, continue to grow throughout life.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pregrowth
  noun
• regrowth
  noun
• supergrowth
  noun
• antigrowth
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• growths
  plural

Etymology

Origin of growth

First recorded in 1550–60; see grow, -th ¹; probably cognate with Old Norse grōthr

Explanation

The noun growth is the process of something becoming bigger. If you mentioned the growth of your family, you might mean that babies were born or people got married, increasing your family's size. Growth is an increase in physical size, like the growth of a sapling into a mature tree. There are other kinds of growth, like your sister's personal growth since she started to meditate every day. Growth can also mean something that has grown, like a growth of stubble on your dad's face or a cancerous growth that needs to be removed surgically. The Old English root word is growan, "to grow or flourish."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

growth growths

Lord O'Neill is also known as the economist who coined the term Bric in 2001 to describe leading developing or newly industrialised countries with potential for fast growth and, therefore, investment returns.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

In New Zealand, second-quarter retail sales data on Monday will point the way to the strength of GDP growth, and say a lot about how consumers are responding to higher fuel prices, and global uncertainty.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

States don’t agree with each other, and companies are left making growth and expansion decisions under a cloud of uncertainty about which rules apply where.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

The biggest question mark is over whether the Bank of Korea will choose to raise interest rates again, as strong economic growth combines with higher prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

He had a pragmatic, farmer-like knowledge of how weather conditions affected growth, germination, blooming times, et cetera.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Beneath the water, divers tracked current density and coral growths, searching for mother-of-pearl.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Many colorectal cancers begin as polyps, which are growths that develop on the inner lining of the bowel.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2026

Doctors opened her abdomen from her breast bone down, looking for more growths.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2026

It can appear as open sores, red patches, rashes, growths, or bumps.

From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2025

Slowly the waters sank among the rocks, revealing pink tables of granite, strange growths of coral, polyp, and weed.

From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding

Related Words

• advance
• advancement
• expansion
• gain
• hike
• improvement
• increase
• production
• prosperity
• rise
• success
• surge