growth
An increase in size, number, value, or strength.
Word facts
Definition of Growth
The act of growing, getting bigger or higher.
Example sentences
The rapid growth of the city surprised everyone who returned after a few years away.
We measured a steady growth in sales every month since the new shop opened.
Using Growth well
A closer look at how growth is used — meaning in plain English, how close synonyms differ, and examples at different levels.
The process of getting bigger, better, or more developed over time.
Use 'growth' when something increases in size, amount, or maturity, whether it's a plant, a business, a person, or an economy. It works in both everyday and professional settings.
Common in business reports, economics, health, gardening, and personal-development writing.
In medicine, 'a growth' can mean a lump or tumor, which is a very different sense from positive 'growth' — context makes the meaning clear.
- expansion
- emphasizes spreading out or scaling up, often deliberate (a company expanding)
- increase
- plainer and more numeric — a rise in amount, without the sense of development
- development
- stresses becoming more advanced or mature, not just larger
- rise
- shorter and more immediate — an upward movement, often in figures or status
- progress
- focuses on moving toward a goal or improvement, not size
- decline
- a gradual worsening or shrinking — the natural opposite in business and health
- shrinkage
- plainer — a reduction in size or amount
- contraction
- formal, common in economics — the economy getting smaller
- Beginner The plant showed a lot of growth over the summer.
- In writing Steady revenue growth over five years gave the founders room to hire more staff.
- Advanced Real growth, she argued, is rarely visible while it happens; it announces itself only in hindsight.
'Growth' comes from 'grow' — if something is growing, its growth is what you can measure.
Synonyms for Growth
Antonyms for Growth
Related words
Words closely connected to Growth in meaning or use:
Words that rhyme with Growth
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FAQ
Questions people ask
What does growth mean?
An increase in size, number, value, or strength. It is a noun.
How many syllables does growth have?
Growth is a one-syllable word, said in a single beat: growth.
What part of speech is growth?
In a sentence, growth functions as a noun. As a noun, it names a thing, idea, or concept.
What are synonyms for growth?
Close in meaning to growth are development, emergence, outgrowth, increment — choose the one whose tone fits your sentence.
How do you use growth in a sentence?
Example: "The rapid growth of the city surprised everyone who returned after a few years away."