accretion
noun
Simple meaning
Something contributing to growth or increase.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhkreeshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əkˈɹiʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Something contributing to growth or increase
“He scraped away the accretions of paint.”
uncountablealso figurative
Increase by natural growth, especially the gradual increase of organic bodies by the internal addition of matter; organic growth; also, the amount of such growth.
uncountableGradual
Increase by an external addition of matter; (countable) an instance of this.
biology
Growth by addition as by the adhesion of parts or particles
countablechiefly figurative
Something gradually added to or growing on a thing externally.
uncountable
The process of separate particles aggregating or coalescing together; concretion; (countable) a thing formed in this manner.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Something contributing to growth or increase
'Accretion' describes a slow, gradual build-up or growth, often of something tangible. It implies an addition that integrates with the existing mass, like dirt accumulating on a surface.
“He scraped away the accretions of paint.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
Geology Class
“The island formed through volcanic accretion over centuries.”
Scientific Journal
“Scientists studied the accretion of matter around the black hole.”
Investment Report
“The fund saw a slow but steady accretion of value.”
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “accretion of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: accretion of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use accretion
- “He scraped away the accretions of paint.”noun
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.