growth

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Related to growth: growth hormone, economic growth

growth

(grōth)

a. The process of growing.

b. Full development; maturity.

2. Development from a lower or simpler to a higher or more complex form; evolution.

3. An increase, as in size, number, value, or strength; extension or expansion: population growth.

4. Something that grows or has grown: a new growth of grass.

5. An abnormal mass of tissue, such as a tumor, growing in or on a living organism.

6. A result of growth; a product: concerns that are a growth of the new responsibilities.

adj.

Expected to have or investing in businesses expected to have higher-than-average increases in revenues and returns: a growth stock; a growth fund.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

growth

(ɡrəʊθ)

1. (Biology) the process or act of growing, esp in organisms following assimilation of food

2. an increase in size, number, significance, etc

3. something grown or growing: a new growth of hair.

4. a stage of development

5. (Pathology) any abnormal tissue, such as a tumour

6. (modifier) of, relating to, causing or characterized by growth: a growth industry; growth hormone.

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

growth

(groʊθ)

n.

1. the act or process or a manner of growing; development; gradual increase.

2. size or stage of development: to reach one's full growth.

3. completed development.

4. development from a simpler to a more complex stage.

5. development from another but related form or stage.

6. something that has grown or developed: a growth of weeds.

7. an abnormal increase in a mass of tissue, as a tumor.

8. origin: tobacco of domestic growth.

adj.

9. of or designating a business, industry, or equity security that grows or is expected to grow in value, earnings, etc., at a rate higher than average: a growth industry; growth stocks.

[1550–60; see grow, -th¹; probably c. Old Norse grōthr]

growth

(grōth)

An increase in size, amount, or volume, usually as a result of an increase in the number of cells. Growth of an organism may stop at maturity, as in the case of humans and other mammals, or it may continue throughout life, as in many plants.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Growth

See Also: SPREADING

Accumulate … like acorns beneath the trees of a forest —Thomas H. Huxley
Accumulate like a pile of dead leaves drifting onto the pavement of August —Barbara Pym
Accumulate like wire coat hangers in a closet —Anon
Blooming as a bride —Anon
Blooming as spring —John Dryden
Bloom like wildflowers in moss —George Garrett
[A young girl] blossomed … like a tree or a branch where every bud was breaking into flower —Rumer Godden
(Curiosity) blossomed like leprosy —Yehuda Amichai
(Life had) blossomed out like a flower in the sun —Ellen Glasgow
Blown up like a tumor —Ralph Waldo Emerson
Bred and nourished like a gardenia —Pat Conroy
Breed as quickly as cockroaches and are as difficult to stamp out —Bob Davis, in article about bugs in computer software, Wall Street Journal, January 28, 1987
Breed like cells under a microscope —Doris Lessing
Breeds like a rabbit —Jonathan Swift
(Ambassadors) cropped up like hay —W. S. Gilbert
(His belief … came to the surface and) expanded like some delicate flower —E. M. Forster
Expanding like the shade of a cloud on sand —Wallace Stevens
Fertile like the divine creation —Victor Hugo
(The righteous shall) flourish as a branch —The Holy Bible/Proverbs
Flourishing like a weed —Stefan Zweig
Flourish like a cabbage rose —John Ashbery
Flourish like an herb —The Holy Bible/Isaiah
Going [a criminal investigation] like a grass shack fire —Harold Adams
Grew … like a balloon being pumped full of gas —Myron Brinig
Grew like a larch —Emily Brontë
Grew like asparagus in May —W. S. Gilbert
[George Ade’s popularity] grew like Jack’s beanstalk —Lee Coyle
Grew like weeds in sand —Marge Piercy
Grow and grow like a maypole —Erica Jong
Grow like a summer pumpkin —W. P. Kinsella
(His notions) grow like a tropical forest —G. K. Chesterton
Grow like savages —William Shakespeare
(I watch our children) grow like stubborn weeds —George Garrett
Growth … as fast as the light from polar regions —John Ashbery
Have grown like a bug from a bug out of the garden of Eden —Dylan Thomas
(In earth) like a man in a woman, I’ll make food out of food —Daniela Gioseffi
A major advance … it’s like going from the propeller airplane to the jet —Dr. Bruce R. Baral, a dentist commenting on new cavity removal system, New York Times, December 31, 1986
(Disappointment) mounting higher every week, like a quick-growing hedge —Mazo De La Roche
Multiplies itself [ultimate truth about fellow men] like taxes —Ogden Nash
Multiplies like loaves and fishes —George Garrett
Multiply (thy seed) as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore —The Holy Bible/Genesis
Multiply like fruitflies —Herbert Lieberman
Progress is like a merry-go-round. We get up on a speckled wooden horse … we think we’re travelling like the devil, but the man that doesn’t care about the merry-go-round knows that we come back where we were —Finley Peter Dunne In Dunne’s Observations by Mr. Dooley some words were in dialect (‘Travellin’ like the divvle but th ‘ …’).
Proliferate, like creditors at a bankruptcy —Mike Sommer
(Plots) ripen like fruit —O. Henry
Soaring like Halley’s comet —Jane Wagner As used in Jane Wagner’s scenario for Lily Tomlin, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life, soaring refers to a sharp increase, as in the teenage suicide rate.
(Poems) sprout like grain from quickened seeds —George Garrett
[Popularity] sprung up, like a grass fire —James Thurber
Stockpiled … like grain in a grain elevator —Doug Feiden In Feiden’s novel, The Ten Million Dollar Getaway, the people doing the stockpiling are mobsters and bodies are the frame of reference for the comparison.
Stretched out like a string released —Henri-Pierre Roche
Swelled like bullfrogs at mating time —R. V. Cassill Cassill’s bullfrogs comparison is used by a character in Hoyt’s Child to describe how policemen will fatten up their role if you let them in on your problems.
Swelling like a balloon —Robert Silverberg
Swelling up like blowfish —Peter De Vries
Unfolding like a tree —Philip Levine
We grow like a tree from the earth —Marge Piercy

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	growth - (biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level; "he proposed an indicator of osseous development in children" growing, ontogenesis, ontogeny, maturation, development culture - (biology) the growing of microorganisms in a nutrient medium (such as gelatin or agar); "the culture of cells in a Petri dish" biological science, biology - the science that studies living organisms amelogenesis - the developmental process of forming tooth enamel angiogenesis - the formation of new blood vessels apposition - (biology) growth in the thickness of a cell wall by the deposit of successive layers of material auxesis - growth from increase in cell size without cell division anthesis, blossoming, florescence, flowering, inflorescence, efflorescence - the time and process of budding and unfolding of blossoms caenogenesis, cainogenesis, cenogenesis, kainogenesis, kenogenesis - introduction during embryonic development of characters or structure not present in the earlier evolutionary history of the strain or species (such as the addition of the placenta in mammalian evolution) cohesion - (botany) the process in some plants of parts growing together that are usually separate (such as petals) cultivation - the process of fostering the growth of something; "the cultivation of bees for honey" cytogenesis, cytogeny - the origin and development and variation of cells foliation, leafing - (botany) the process of forming leaves fructification - the bearing of fruit gametogenesis - the development and maturation of sex cells through meiosis gastrulation - the process in which a gastrula develops from a blastula by the inward migration of cells germination, sprouting - the process whereby seeds or spores sprout and begin to grow habit - the general form or mode of growth (especially of a plant or crystal); "a shrub of spreading habit" infructescence - the fruiting stage of the inflorescence intussusception - (biology) growth in the surface area of a cell by the deposit of new particles between existing particles in the cell wall juvenescence - the process of growing into a youth life cycle - the course of developmental changes in an organism from fertilized zygote to maturity when another zygote can be produced masculinisation, masculinization, virilisation, virilization - the abnormal development of male sexual characteristics in a female (usually as the result of hormone therapies or adrenal malfunction) morphogenesis - differentiation and growth of the structure of an organism (or a part of an organism) myelinisation, myelinization - the development of a myelin sheath around a nerve fiber neurogenesis - the development of nerve tissues biological process, organic process - a process occurring in living organisms palingenesis, recapitulation - emergence during embryonic development of various characters or structures that appeared during the evolutionary history of the strain or species proliferation - growth by the rapid multiplication of parts psychogenesis - a general term for the origin and development of almost any aspect of the mind psychogenesis - the development in the life of an individual of some disorder that is caused by psychological rather than physiological factors psychomotor development - progressive acquisition of skills involving both mental and motor activities psychosexual development - (psychoanalysis) the process during which personality and sexual behavior mature through a series of stages: first oral stage and then anal stage and then phallic stage and then latency stage and finally genital stage rooting - the process of putting forth roots and beginning to grow suppression - the failure to develop some part or organ dentition, odontiasis, teething - the eruption through the gums of baby teeth teratogenesis - the development of defects in an embryo vegetation - the process of growth in plants isometry - the growth rates in different parts of a growing organism are the same
	2.	growth - a progression from simpler to more complex forms; "the growth of culture" evolution, development - a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage); "the development of his ideas took many years"; "the evolution of Greek civilization"; "the slow development of her skill as a writer"
	3.	growth - a process of becoming larger or longer or more numerous or more important; "the increase in unemployment"; "the growth of population" increment, increase physical process, process - a sustained phenomenon or one marked by gradual changes through a series of states; "events now in process"; "the process of calcification begins later for boys than for girls" accession - a process of increasing by addition (as to a collection or group); "the art collection grew through accession" accretion, accumulation - an increase by natural growth or addition accretion - (geology) an increase in land resulting from alluvial deposits or waterborne sediment accretion - (biology) growth by addition as by the adhesion of parts or particles accretion - (astronomy) the formation of a celestial object by the effect of gravity pulling together surrounding objects and gases multiplication - a multiplicative increase; "repeated copying leads to a multiplication of errors"; "this multiplication of cells is a natural correlate of growth" population growth - increase in the number of people who inhabit a territory or state proliferation - a rapid increase in number (especially a rapid increase in the number of deadly weapons); "the proliferation of nuclear weapons" pullulation - a rapid and abundant increase relaxation - (physiology) the gradual lengthening of inactive muscle or muscle fibers widening, broadening - an increase in width
	4.	growth - vegetation that has grown; "a growth of trees"; "the only growth was some salt grass" botany, flora, vegetation - all the plant life in a particular region or period; "Pleistocene vegetation"; "the flora of southern California"; "the botany of China"
	5.	growth - the gradual beginning or coming forth; "figurines presage the emergence of sculpture in Greece" emergence, outgrowth beginning - the event consisting of the start of something; "the beginning of the war" rise - a growth in strength or number or importance
	6.	growth - (pathology) an abnormal proliferation of tissue (as in a tumor) excrescence - (pathology) an abnormal outgrowth or enlargement of some part of the body pathology - the branch of medical science that studies the causes and nature and effects of diseases illness, sickness, unwellness, malady - impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism exostosis - a benign outgrowth from a bone (usually covered with cartilage) polyp, polypus - a small vascular growth on the surface of a mucous membrane peduncle - the thin process of tissue that attaches a polyp to the body neoplasm, tumor, tumour - an abnormal new mass of tissue that serves no purpose hamartoma - a focal growth that resembles a neoplasm but results from faulty development in an organ
	7.	growth - something grown or growing; "a growth of hair" object, physical object - a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow; "it was full of rackets, balls and other objects" ingrowth - something that grows inward

growth

noun

1. increase, development, expansion, extension, growing, heightening, proliferation, enlargement, multiplication the unchecked growth of the country's population
increase fall, drop, decline, decrease, dwindling, lessening, subsiding, slackening, shrinkage

2. progress, success, improvement, expansion, advance, prosperity, advancement enormous economic growth
progress failure

3. development, growing hormones which control fertility and body growth

4. vegetation, development, production, sprouting, germination, shooting This helps to encourage new growth and makes the plant flower profusely.

5. (Medical) tumour, cancer, swelling, lump, carcinoma (Pathology), sarcoma (Medical), excrescence This type of surgery could even be used to extract cancerous growths.

Proverbs
"Great oaks from little acorns grow"

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

growth

noun

1. A progression from a simple form to a more complex one:

development, evolution, evolvement, progress, unfolding.

2. The act of increasing or rising:

aggrandizement, amplification, augment, augmentation, boost, buildup, enlargement, escalation, hike, increase, jump, multiplication, proliferation, raise, rise, swell, upsurge, upswing, upturn.

Translations

تنميةمِقْدار النُّمونـَماءنُمو، تَطَوُّرنُمو، طول، كِبَر

růstvýrůstekvzrůstporost

vækst

Wachstum Wucherung Wuchs Zunahme Geschwulst

ανάπτυξη

crecimiento desarrollo tumor aumento

kasvupesäkekasvainkasvannainen

croissance développement excroissance pousse accroissement

razvitak

növés

æxlivöxtur

crescita tumore evoluzione sviluppo

成長

성장

groei toename

produksjon utvekst vekst

wzrost

crescimento acréscimo

рост

rastvzrast

rast

tillväxtväxtväxtlighetvegetation

ความเติบโต

büyümebüyüme oranıbüyümüş şeygelişme miktarışiş

sự tăng trưởng

生长生长物生长量瘤赘生物

growth

[grəʊθ]

A. N

1. (= development) [of person, animal, plant] → crecimiento m
spiritual growth → desarrollo m espiritual

2. (= expansion) [of city] → crecimiento m (Econ) → crecimiento m, desarrollo m
the growth of national industries → el desarrollo or el crecimiento de las industrias nacionales
see also capital C

3. (= increase) (in productivity, profits, demand) → aumento m
population growth → crecimiento m demográfico

4. (Bot) (= vegetation) → vegetación f; (= buds, leaves) → brotes mpl
the pine tree was putting out new growth → el pino estaba echando brotes nuevos

5. (= beard) with three days' growth on his face → con barba de tres días

6. (Med) → tumor m

B. CPD growth area N (Econ) [of country] → polo m de desarrollo; [of industry] → sector m en crecimiento or expansión
growth hormone N → hormona f del crecimiento
growth industry N → industria f en crecimiento or expansión
growth point N → punto m de desarrollo
growth potential N → potencial m de crecimiento
growth rate N (Econ) → tasa f de crecimiento
growth shares NPL (US) = growth stock growth stock N → acciones fpl con perspectivas de valorización
growth town N → ciudad f en vías de desarrollo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

growth

[ˈgrəʊθ] n

[economy] → croissance f
Growth has slowed → La croissance a ralenti.
economic growth → la croissance économique

[plant] → croissance f
new growth → nouvelle pousse

[person, animal] → croissance f

(= increase) [sales, productivity, revenue, demand] → croissance f, augmentation f
population growth → croissance démographique
growth in sth [sales, productivity, revenue, demand] → croissance de qch, augmentation de qch
the growth of nationalism → la poussée du nationalisme growth area, growth potential, growth industry

(= tumour) → grosseur f, tumeur f

(also capital growth) → croissance f
growth and income → croissance et revenugrowth area n (= sector of economy) → secteur m en expansion (= region) → région f en expansiongrowth industry n → industrie f en pleine expansiongrowth potential n → potentiel m de croissancegrowth rate n → taux m de croissance

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

growth

→ Wachstum nt; (= increase in quantity, fig: of love, interest etc) → Zunahme f, → Anwachsen nt; (= increase in size) → Vergrößerung f, → Wachstum nt; (of capital etc) → Zuwachs m; to reach full growth → seine/ihre volle Größe erreichen; growth industry/stock → Wachstumsindustrie f → /-aktien pl; rate of export growth → Wachstums- or Zuwachsrate f → im Export

(= plants) → Vegetation f; (of one plant) → Triebe pl; growth ring (of tree) → Jahresring m; covered with a thick growth of ivy → von Efeu überwuchert or überwachsen; cut away the old growth → schneiden Sie die alten Blätter und Zweige aus; with two days’ growth (of beard) on his face → mit zwei Tage alten Bartstoppeln

(Med) → Gewächs nt, → Wucherung f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

growth

[grəʊθ] n

a. (increase) → crescita, aumento; (development) → sviluppo
he has 5 days' growth (of beard) → ha una barba di 5 giorni
to reach full growth → raggiungere il pieno sviluppo

b. (Med) → tumore m

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

grow

(grəu) – past tense grew (gruː) : past participle grown – verb

1. (of plants) to develop. Carrots grow well in this soil.

2. to become bigger, longer etc. My hair has grown too long; Our friendship grew as time went on.

3. to cause or allow to grow. He has grown a beard.

4. (with into) to change into, in becoming mature. Your daughter has grown into a beautiful woman.

5. to become. It's growing dark.

ˈgrower noun

a person who grows (plants etc). a tomato-grower.

grown adjective

adult. a grown man; fully grown.

growth (-θ) noun

1. the act or process of growing, increasing, developing etc. the growth of trade unionism.

2. something that has grown. a week's growth of beard.

3. the amount by which something grows. to measure the growth of a plant.

4. something unwanted which grows. a cancerous growth.

ˈgrown-ˈup noun

an adult.

grown-up adjective

mature; adult; fully grown. Her children are grown up now; a grown-up daughter.

grow on

to gradually become liked. I didn't like the painting at first, but it has grown on me.

grow up

to become an adult. I'm going to be an engine-driver when I grow up.

growth

→ نـَماء růst vækst Wachstum ανάπτυξη crecimiento kasvu croissance razvitak crescita 成長 성장 groei vekst wzrost crescimento рост tillväxt ความเติบโต büyüme sự tăng trưởng 生长

growth

n. proceso de crecimiento, desarrollo, crecimiento, multiplicación, proliferación;

___ factor → agente que influye el ___.

growth

n crecimiento; (on the body) tumor m; — spurt estirón m, período de crecimiento rápido

References in classic literature ?

The earlier voyagers fancied that the coral-building animals instinctively built up their great circles to afford themselves protection in the inner parts; but so far is this from the truth, that those massive kinds, to whose growth on the exposed outer shores the very existence of the reef depends, cannot live within the lagoon, where other delicately-branching kinds flourish.

View in context

And as the world unrolled itself for him, so rolleth it together again for him in rings, as the growth of good through evil, as the growth of purpose out of chance.

View in context

"Let us suppose a monster of the early days of the world--a dragon of the prime--of vast age running into thousands of years, to whom had been conveyed in some way--it matters not--a brain just sufficient for the beginning of growth. Suppose the monster to be of incalculable size and of a strength quite abnormal--a veritable incarnation of animal strength.

View in context

But there were other forces at work in the cub, the greatest of which was growth. Instinct and law demanded of him obedience.

View in context

These, then, and such-like things ought to be the first object of our attention: the next age to this continues till the child is five years old; during which time it is best to teach him nothing at all, not even necessary labour, lest it should hinder his growth; but he should be accustomed to use so much motion as not to acquire a lazy habit of body; which he will get by various means and by play also: his play also ought to be neither illiberal nor too laborious nor lazy.

View in context

Directly this extraor- dinary growth encountered water it straightway became gigantic and of unparalleled fecundity.

View in context

Democracies were the natural growth of the New World.

View in context

That they are, however, sadly sapped and blighted in their growth among the mass; and that there are influences at work which endanger them still more, and give but little present promise of their healthy restoration; is a truth that ought to be told.

View in context

Causes of Variability -- Effects of Habit -- Correlation of Growth -- Inheritance -- Character of Domestic Varieties -- Difficulty of distinguishing between Varieties and Species -- Origin of Domestic Varieties from one or more Species -- Domestic Pigeons, their Differences and Origin -- Principle of Selection anciently followed, its Effects -- Methodical and Unconscious Selection -- Unknown Origin of our Domestic Productions -- Circumstances favourable to Man's power of Selection.

View in context

There was one person, as you will believe, who watched with keener though more hidden interest than any other, the prosperous growth of Eppie under the weaver's care.

View in context

The river narrowed and flowed sluggishly between the banks which were luxuriant with tropical growth. Now and then some lonely Indian hut could be seen, and occasionally a craft propelled by a man who was trying to gain a meager living from the rubber forest which hemmed in the stream on either side.

View in context

We will do as Despreaux did, - we will enter the park, the trees of which are of eight years' growth only - that is to say, in their present position - and whose summits even yet, as they proudly tower aloft, blushingly unfold their leaves to the earliest rays of the rising sun.