increase
Americanverb (used with object)
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increases,
present (3rd person singular)
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increased,
past participle, past
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increasing
present participle
verb (used without object)
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increases,
present (3rd person singular)
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increased,
past participle, past
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increasing
present participle
noun
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increases
plural
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growth or augmentation in numbers, size, strength, quality, etc..
the increase of crime.
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the act or process of increasing.
- Synonyms:
- expansion, enlargement
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that by which something is increased.
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the result of increasing.
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produce of the earth.
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product; profit; interest.
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Obsolete.
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multiplication by propagation; production of offspring.
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offspring; progeny.
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verb
noun
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the act of increasing; augmentation
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the amount by which something increases
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increasing, esp becoming more frequent
Usage
What does increase mean? To increase is to become greater or more in number, amount, size, or in some other way, as in Our profits will increase as demand increases. As a verb, increase is also used in an active way in which someone or something is doing the increasing, as in I’m going to increase my hours at work or These sunglasses increase visibility. Increase can also be used as a noun referring to a rise or growth in something, as in We are experiencing an increase in applicants. It can also refer to the amount by which something has increased, as in The increase was $5,000 per year. The words increased and increasing can both be used as adjectives, as in an increased appetite or increasing sales. The opposite of increase as both a verb and a noun is decrease. Example: My boss increased my workload, which led to an increase in stress.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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increasernoun
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nonincreasenoun
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preincreasenoun
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superincreasenoun
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reincreaseverb
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preincreaseverb (used with object)
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superincreaseverb (used with object)
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increasableadjective
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nonincreasableadjective
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proincreaseadjective
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quasi-increasedadjective
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unincreasableadjective
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unincreasedadjective
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increasedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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increasesimple
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increasessimple
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have increasedperfect
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has increasedperfect
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am increasingprogressive
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are increasingprogressive
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is increasingprogressive
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have been increasingperfect progressive
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has been increasingperfect progressive
Past
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increasedsimple
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had increasedperfect
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was increasingprogressive
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were increasingprogressive
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had been increasingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of increase
First recorded in 1370–1395; Middle English incresen, encresen, from Anglo-French encres-, Middle French encreis(s)-, stem of encreistre, from Latin incrēscere, equivalent to in- in- 2 + crēscere “to grow”; see crescent
Explanation
The noun increase indicates growth of something that gets bigger in number or volume. When used as a verb, it means the act of growing or gaining more. However it's used, it refers to something that has gotten bigger. Anything that can add on can increase. You can increase your speed to go faster, increase your strength by working out, increase your knowledge by studying, and increase your circle of friends by meeting more people. You can work harder to see an increase of profits, and you can prevent an increase in your electric bill by turning out unnecessary lights. And now you’ve increased your vocabulary by learning a new word!
Vocabulary lists containing increase
"Siberian Survivors" and "Tigers in the Wild"
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Arithmetic, List 1
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Unit 17, Lesson 2
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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:
The biggest source of inflation is services, and the rate of increase there has also slowed to close to prepandemic levels.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
However, despite an increase in some species appearing in the region, there were others whose numbers were dwindling.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
“We know that by 2030 there’s gonna be a 10x increase in the number of data centers across the United States, and we know where almost every one of those data centers are.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
He cast himself as having blessed the increase, saying he told Warsh he might as well vote with a board that was going to act anyway.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
She met with a spiritualist who said he could increase her power by making her a potion.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
In September, nearly all the major mortgage lenders in the UK announced increases in the cost of home loans.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
In February, under Walter’s ownership, the Lakers announced significant increases in ticket prices for the 2026-27 season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
KKR also lists a number of core themes it sees standing to gain from capital becoming more expensive and as focus increases among companies on productivity.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
After considerable volatility in the first half of the year, the rupiah has been rangebound this quarter, reducing the need for currency-driven rate increases, they added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The nursing students, who are all West Indian like Nurse Monica, and young, unlike her, absolutely adore him and give him big smiles, which increases his activity.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
Still, while the company has scored a number of deals with hyperscalers and AI companies, those deals haven’t yet markedly increased its revenue, noted Ishan Majumdar, an analyst at Baptista Research, a financial advisory.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
The selfie camera got bumped up to 18 megapixels and the rear telephoto camera increased to 48 megapixels, with 8X zoom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
No announcement has been made for seasons beyond then, but the investor presentation provides information on how prices have increased for NBA tickets across the league.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
This again increased in 2023-2024 to 10%, and 10.5% in 2024-2025.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Over the past decade, like every other Wall Street firm, Bear Stearns had increased the size of the bets it made with every dollar of its capital.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Volkswagen’s supervisory board this month approved a plan to cut 100,000 jobs and halve its model portfolio, in part due to the strain of increasing competition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
They added: "Anything that delays the recapitalisation risks slowing the turnaround, disrupting investment and increasing the cost of delivering the improvements our customers and the environment need."
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
The company’s Hyve Solutions business, which provides custom hardware such as servers and networking equipment for data centers, should benefit from increasing demand for faster processing and networking, the analysts said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
Later research also complicates the idea that increasing D-serine should always benefit an aging brain.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
They walked on and on, turning corner after corner, in increasing puzzlement.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
