growth ring

noun

1. annual ring.

growth ring

noun

1. another name for annual ring

growth ring

1. A layer of wood formed in a plant during a single period of growth. Growth rings are visible as concentric circles of varying width when a tree is cut crosswise. They represent layers of cells produced by vascular cambium.

2. ◆ Most growth rings reflect a full year's growth and are called annual rings. But abrupt changes in the environment, especially in the availability of water, can cause a plant to produce more than one growth ring in a year.

3. See more at dendrochronology

4. A similar layer in a part of an animal marking a period of growth, such as an annulus in a fish scale.

Word History and Origins

Origin of growth ring¹

First recorded in 1905–10