growing

American  

[groh-ing] / ˈgroʊ ɪŋ /

adjective

1. becoming greater in quantity, size, extent, or intensity.

   growing discontent among industrial workers.

2. having or showing life.

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Other Word Forms

• growingly adverb
• ungrowing adjective

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

But fraudsters are growing more sophisticated and harder to detect.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Those include many consumer companies, credit card companies, and banks, which make more loans and conduct more corporate transactions when economic demand is growing.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

Voters have also expressed growing frustration at the lack of progress in reducing homelessness and overall housing costs.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

The Home Office is investigating the individuals highlighted in the BBC's reporting as part of a wider investigation prompted by officials noticing a growing trend of fake claims from people pretending to be gay.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

Inside me I felt little threads, growing and spreading and knotting together, tangling me up and binding me tight.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

Related Words

• burgeoning
• developing
• expanding
• flourishing
• spreading
• thriving
• viable