growth
nounUS /ɡɹoʊθ/ · UK /ɡɹəʊθ/
Etymology From grow + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Compare Old Frisian grēd ("meadow, pasture"; > North Frisian greyde (“growth, pasture”)), Middle High German gruote, gruot (“greens, fresh growth, shoot”), Old Norse gróðr ("growth, crop"; > Faroese grøði, Danish grøde (“fruits”), Swedish gröda (“crop, harvest”)). More at grow.
1
An increase in size, number, value, or strength.
- It may be that a free society as we have known it carries in itself the forces of its own destruction, that once freedom has been achieved it is taken for granted and ceases to be valued, and that the free growth of ideas which is the essence of a free society will bring about the destruction of the foundations on which it depends.1949, F. A. Hayek, “The Intellectuals and Socialism”, in University of Chicago Law Review, volume 16, number 3, Chicago: University of Chicago, →DOI, pages 431-432:
2
Economics, Sciences Abbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of economic growth.
- Growth was dampened by a softening of the global economy in 2001, but picked up in the subsequent years due to strong growth in China.
- Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.[…]Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today.2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:
1 more example
- Liz Truss has promised Britons she has “got your back” and set out a plan for “growth, growth and growth” in a conference speech disrupted by protesters asking who voted for her plan.2022 October 5, Rowena Mason, quoting Liz Truss, “Liz Truss promises ‘growth, growth and growth’ in protest-hit speech”, in The Guardian:
3
An increase in psychological strength or resilience; an increased ability to overcome adversity.
- Struggle, disappointment, and criticism all contribute to a person's growth.
4
Biology, Natural sciences The act of growing, getting bigger or higher.
5
Biology, Natural sciences Something that grows or has grown.
- Scary-looking rabbits were hopping around Fort Collins. These weren’t your standard cute, fluffy bunnies; they had horn-like growths protruding from their faces and bodies.2025 August 14, Angela Haupt, “What to Know About the Horned ‘Zombie’ Rabbits Hopping Around Colorado”, in TIME:
- Synonyms
- enlargement, expansion, increase, increment, development, maturation, vegetation, outgrowth, cancer, mass
- Antonyms
- contraction, decrease, decrement, reduction, nondevelopment
- Derived terms
72 terms
aftergrowth, antigrowth, autogrowth, bottom growth, bovine growth hormone, chain growth polymerization, cogrowth, degrowth, diauxic growth, economic growth, edgrowth, epigrowth, establishment growth, exponential growth, geometric growth, grand period of growth, growth arrest line, growth cone, growth factor, growth form, growthful, growth hacker, growth hacking, growth hormone, growth investing, growthism, growthist, growthless, growthmania, growth medium, growth mindset, growth plate, growth rate, growth retardation, growth-retarding, growth ring, growthsome, growth spurt, growth stock, growthwise, growthy, hemiperipheral growth, high-growth, holoperipheral growth, hypergrowth, ingrowth, intergrowth, logistic growth, macrogrowth, megagrowth, microgrowth, misgrowth, mixoperipheral growth, negative growth, nerve growth factor, nongrowth, old-growth, old-growth forest, organic growth, outgrowth, overgrowth, postgrowth, regrowth, second-growth forest, slowth, spring growth, supergrowth, undergrowth, upgrowth, vascular endothelial growth factor, zero growth, zero population growth- Hyponyms
- tumor