increase
Americanverb (used with object)
-
increases,
present (3rd person singular)
-
increased,
past participle, past
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increasing
present participle
verb (used without object)
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increases,
present (3rd person singular)
-
increased,
past participle, past
-
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
Other insects that had seen an increase in their numbers locally included the clouded yellow butterfly, a European migratory species known to have "peak" years during unusually hot summers.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
She believes the increase of women studying Engineering centred degrees is a sign that things are changing.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
One explanation for Friday’s yen dip is that BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda faced two dissenting votes to his rate increase, from board members appointed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The slave trade had become less profitable during the Revolution as slaveholders relied more on the natural increase of their enslaved population.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Smaller increases in rents and home prices, the biggest expense for most people, are a big reason for that.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
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
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
That problem grows astronomically as the number of people making up the society increases.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Amodei also called for increased regulation of the frontier AI labs, with a focus on “transparency and third-party auditing.”
From MarketWatch ● 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
She increased the number of designer events, hosting more in the past year than Net-a-Porter did in the prior three years combined.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
This again increased in 2023-2024 to 10%, and 10.5% in 2024-2025.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Japan has already increased the size of its army by the time Shingo visits the Philippines.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Dziarski says that BAM is also increasing its diversification by expanding its client base over the last 10 years and bolstering its capital market fees to $250 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Japan's central bank has raised its main interest rate to a fresh 31-year high as it continues to move away from decades of ultra-low borrowing costs and as the country faces increasing economic pressures.
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
In the model, increasing membrane tension also reduced their size.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
If we didn’t change some habits, it could become a real problem over time, increasing her risk for high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
