growing
Americanadjective
-
becoming greater in quantity, size, extent, or intensity.
growing discontent among industrial workers.
-
having or showing life.
Other Word 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.
"I can say with absolute certainty that to raise creatures able to survive nature's harshness, they must be toughened up while growing up," Kinjo, 56, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
The company’s cloud business is growing more than 80% year-over-year, more than double the rate of either of its main competitors, Amazon.com and Microsoft.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
She has now joined growing calls for regulation of the funeral industry.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Welcome back to Don’t Short Yourself, where we cut through the financial noise to offer smart, relatable tips for growing your wealth and managing your money.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
When Mama discovered that the moss was actually growing in the soft clay, she told everyone in the hills about it.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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.
