proliferate
[ pruh-lif-uh-reyt ]
/ prəˈlɪf əˌreɪt /
verb (used with or without object), pro·lif·er·at·ed, pro·lif·er·at·ing.
to grow or produce by multiplication of parts, as in budding or cell division, or by procreation.
to increase in number or spread rapidly and often excessively.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
mushroom, escalate, breed, reproduce, snowball, propagate, burgeon, multiply, generate, procreate, engender, expand
Nearby words
- proletarize,
- proletary,
- proleukocyte,
- prolicide,
- prolidase,
- proliferating endarteritis,
- proliferating systematized angioendotheliomatosis,
- proliferation,
- proliferative,
- proliferative fasciitis
Origin of proliferate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for proliferating
proliferate
/ (prəˈlɪfəˌreɪt) /
verb
to grow or reproduce (new parts, cells, etc) rapidly
to grow or increase or cause to grow or increase rapidly
Word Origin for proliferate
C19: from Medieval Latin prōlifer having offspring, from Latin prōlēs offspring + ferre to bear
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
proliferate
1857 as a term in biology; see proliferation. General sense from 1961. Related: Proliferated; proliferating.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
proliferate
[ prə-lĭf′ə-rāt′ ]
v.
To grow or multiply by rapidly producing new tissue, parts, cells, or offspring.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.