growth ring

American  

noun

1. annual ring.

---

growth ring British  

noun

1. another name for annual ring

---

growth ring Scientific  

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.

---

Etymology

Origin of growth ring

First recorded in 1905–10

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

growth ring

Woodward, Myhrvold, and Horner found that circularly polarized and cross-polarized light can reveal a new type of growth ring.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 22, 2026

Another key finding involves the discovery of a previously unrecognized type of growth ring in dinosaur bone.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 5, 2026

But sometimes nature throws a wrench into the works, and a tree will form more than one growth ring in a year.

From Science Magazine ● Dec. 17, 2021

The study, published in Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, looked at an extinct rudist clam and found that it had a growth ring on its shell for every day of the nine years it was alive.

From Fox News ● Mar. 12, 2020

Since the late wood of a growth ring is usually darker in color than the early wood, this fact may be used in judging the density, and therefore the hardness and strength of the material.

From The Mechanical Properties of Wood Including a Discussion of the Factors Affecting the Mechanical Properties, and Methods of Timber Testing by Samuel J. Record

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---