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Showing results for "growing"
  • present participle of grow.
Synonyms

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.


Other Word 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."

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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.

See Examples For:

When a country has a relative scarcity of younger workers, that country’s technology sector rises to the occasion, resulting in “more labor-saving patents and growing high-tech activity.”

From MarketWatch Sep. 11, 2026

That marked a reversal after years of growing closeness, in large part stemming from their mutual interest in countering China.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 11, 2026

But this growing visibility has created a new backlash.

From Salon Sep. 11, 2026

On Sunday OpenAI's chief scientist said the risk from increasingly capable AI models is "unfortunately growing" and humanity must proceed with "extreme caution".

From BBC Sep. 11, 2026

It seemed as if that old leg of hers held her growing back.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

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