- present participle of increase.
increasing
Americanadjective
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growing larger or greater; enlarging; augmenting.
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Mathematics. (of a function) having the property that for any two points in the domain such that one is larger than the other, the image of the larger point is greater than or equal to the image of the smaller point; nondecreasing.
Usage
What does increasing mean? Increasing is an adjective that means growing or rising—becoming greater or more in number, amount, size, or in some other way. It comes from the continuous tense (-ing form) of the verb increase, which means to become greater or more in number, amount, size, or in some other way, as in Our profits will increase as demand increases. The word increased can also be used as an adjective to describe things that have risen or grown, as in an increased appetite. Example: The increasing value of the dollar.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of increasing
Explanation
Increasing means getting bigger or expanding. You'll be glad to have an increasing income, but perhaps less glad to have an increasing pants size. The adjective increasing describes anything that grows or becomes greater. Increasing volume from your neighbor's radio will drive you crazy, since it's getting louder and louder. If your tiny school attracts increasing numbers of new students, it's likely that new teachers will need to be hired. Increasing comes from the verb increase, or grow, with its Latin root word, increscere, "to grow upon, grow over, swell, or grow into."
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.
As part of the New American Playbook series, Andrew Keshner covered the trend of an increasing entrepreneurship rate among younger adults and interviewed several who had created successful new businesses.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Syngenta said it had been unable to make its business at the plant "competitive" in the face of "increasing international competition".
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
He also wants to raise the threshold for properties subject to the tax to $10 million, to account for the increasing costs of construction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
The poll found that manufacturers responded by increasing their own charges, though some firms reported that a weak demand environment had limited their pricing power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
He had had an allowance since he was ten, starting at five dollars per week and increasing steadily with inflation and age up to its current twenty dollars.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
