growing
Americanadjective
-
becoming greater in quantity, size, extent, or intensity.
growing discontent among industrial workers.
-
having or showing life.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of growing
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English growende. See grow, -ing 2
Explanation
A growing thing (or person) is in the process of developing, often by getting bigger. You can argue for a second helping of cake by saying, "I'm a growing kid!" Your puppy is a growing animal, changing and developing into an adult dog, and your cactus is a growing plant, even if the only evidence of that growth is one pink bloom each year. You can also use this adjective for things that increase, like your growing bank account or your growing interest in woodworking. As a noun, growing means the biological process of change and development itself: "Growing isn't always easy, but we all have to do it."
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.
“The luxury market has been a bright spot in today’s housing market, and additional wealth generated through IPOs could further highlight the growing divide in the ‘K-shaped’ housing market,” she said.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 13, 2026
Similarly, downtown has accounted for a growing share of overall exits from the region in the last five years.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2026
"It's a unique dynamic of players growing up all over the world but coming back to represent Bosnia," says former Bosnia goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
Central Asia is drifting further from Russia’s orbit, and not only through commercial ties, as seen with the region’s growing trade dependence on China.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
The unquiet grave of Phineas Gage was disturbed once in 1867 by Dr. Harlow and then again in 1940 by the rapidly growing city.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
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.
