# growth

Pronunciation: say "GROHTH" US /ɡɹoʊθ/, UK /ɡɹəʊθ/

## Noun

1. An increase in size, number, value or strength, especially of an economy or a business.
   - Simple: When something gets bigger, grows in number, becomes worth more, or gets stronger, especially a business or economy.
   - _The company reported strong growth in its overseas markets last year._
   - _Population growth in the region has slowed over the past decade._
2. The process by which a living thing gets bigger, taller, or more developed.
   - Simple: The process of getting bigger or taller over time.
   - _Botanists tracked the growth of the seedlings under different light conditions._
   - _Hormones regulate growth during childhood and adolescence._
3. Development of a person's mind, feelings or character, often through experience or hardship.
   - Simple: Becoming a wiser, stronger or better person over time.
   - _The memoir traces her emotional growth through years of recovery._
   - _Mentors can encourage growth by challenging people to face their fears._
4. Living matter, such as vegetation or hair, that has grown or is growing on a surface or in a place.
   - Simple: Plants, hair, or other living things that have grown in a place.
   - _A dense growth of ferns lined the forest floor._
   - _Years of neglect had left a tangled growth covering the fence._
5. An abnormal mass of tissue, such as a tumor, that develops in or on the body.
   - Simple: A lump that forms in or on the body and should not be there.
   - _The surgeon removed a benign growth from his lower back._
   - _A rapidly enlarging growth prompted further testing._

## Origin

Formed from grow plus the abstract noun-forming suffix -th. It can be compared with Old Frisian grēd ("meadow, pasture"), Middle High German gruot ("greens, fresh growth, shoot"), and Old Norse gróðr ("growth, crop").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/growth (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).