growing
Americanadjective
-
becoming greater in quantity, size, extent, or intensity.
growing discontent among industrial workers.
-
having or showing life.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of growing
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English growende. See grow, -ing 2
Explanation
A growing thing (or person) is in the process of developing, often by getting bigger. You can argue for a second helping of cake by saying, "I'm a growing kid!" Your puppy is a growing animal, changing and developing into an adult dog, and your cactus is a growing plant, even if the only evidence of that growth is one pink bloom each year. You can also use this adjective for things that increase, like your growing bank account or your growing interest in woodworking. As a noun, growing means the biological process of change and development itself: "Growing isn't always easy, but we all have to do it."
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.
Even if the rumors are true that Paramount and CBS executives are growing wary of Weiss and her impact, the overhaul of 60 Minutes is not likely to end.
From Slate • Jun. 5, 2026
Pilot Mountain joins a growing list of towns and cities nationwide where independent public watchdogs are blowing the whistle on officials’ use of government credit cards known as purchasing cards, or “p-cards.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
For nearly a week, protests have been growing in Albania against a luxury resort project led by Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
The contract also addresses concerns about the growing use of artificial intelligence in TV and film and its impact on actor jobs.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
She gets what it’s like to be teased, because the same thing happened to her when she was growing up.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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.
