growth

American  

[grohth] / groʊθ /

noun

• growths
  plural

1. 

   the act or process, or a manner of growing; development; gradual increase.

   Synonyms:

   expansion, augmentation

   Antonyms:

   decrease, decline

2. size or stage of development.

   It hasn't yet reached its full growth.

3. completed development.

4. development from a simpler to a more complex stage.

   the growth of ritual forms.

5. development from another but related form or stage.

   the growth of the nation state.

6. something that has grown or developed by or as if by a natural process.

   a growth of stubborn weeds.

   Synonyms:

   outgrowth, result

7. Pathology. an abnormal increase in a mass of tissue, as a tumor.

   Synonyms:

   excrescence

8. origin; source; production.

   onions of English growth.

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adjective

1. of or denoting a business, industry, or equity security that grows or is expected to grow in value over a long period of time.

   a growth industry; a growth stock.

growth British  

/ ɡrəʊθ /

noun

1. the process or act of growing, esp in organisms following assimilation of food

2. an increase in size, number, significance, etc

3. something grown or growing

   a new growth of hair

4. a stage of development

5. any abnormal tissue, such as a tumour

6. (modifier) of, relating to, causing or characterized by growth

   a growth industry

   growth hormone

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growth Scientific  

/ grōth /

1. An increase in the size of an organism or part of an organism, usually as a result of an increase in the number of cells. Growth of an organism may stop at maturity, as in the case of humans and other mammals, or it may continue throughout life, as in many plants. In humans, certain body parts, like hair and nails, continue to grow throughout life.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pregrowth
  noun
• regrowth
  noun
• supergrowth
  noun
• antigrowth
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• growths
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of growth

First recorded in 1550–60; see grow, -th ¹; probably cognate with Old Norse grōthr

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Explanation

The noun growth is the process of something becoming bigger. If you mentioned the growth of your family, you might mean that babies were born or people got married, increasing your family's size. Growth is an increase in physical size, like the growth of a sapling into a mature tree. There are other kinds of growth, like your sister's personal growth since she started to meditate every day. Growth can also mean something that has grown, like a growth of stubble on your dad's face or a cancerous growth that needs to be removed surgically. The Old English root word is growan, "to grow or flourish."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

growth growths

She proposed a "growth and investment reset" that ramps up funding to countries in need as part of a set of measures designed to provide sustained support at concessional rates.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

Healey told me that he saw the figures as the first sign that AI and tech investment was starting to increase UK economic growth.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

He added that communities want to see investments in people and middle-class jobs against the broader backdrop of artificial-intelligence growth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

The IMF this week upgraded its world economic outlook, citing unexpected "resilience" in economic growth.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

“Specific growth factors,” said Farooqi, cutting off Kojo and Jake, “such as BDNF, a member of the neurotrophin family, encourage the growth of new neurons and synapses.”

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein

It doesn’t endorse screenings for skin cancer or recommend that physicians counsel patients on how to look for suspicious moles and growths on their bodies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Many colorectal cancers begin as polyps, which are growths that develop on the inner lining of the bowel.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2026

At the time, she said she learned she had non-cancerous growths on her vocal cords.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2026

It can appear as open sores, red patches, rashes, growths, or bumps.

From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2025

The boils, the sores, the putrid growths just melted back into healthy full flesh.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

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Related Words

• advance
• advancement
• expansion
• gain
• hike
• improvement
• increase
• production
• prosperity
• rise
• success
• surge

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