/ English Dictionary |
GROWTH
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The gradual beginning or coming forth
Example:
figurines presage the emergence of sculpture in Greece
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("growth" is a kind of...):
beginning (the event consisting of the start of something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "growth"):
rise (a growth in strength or number or importance)
Derivation:
grow (pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become)
grow (come into existence; take on form or shape)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Example:
the only growth was some salt grass
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("growth" is a kind of...):
botany; flora; vegetation (all the plant life in a particular region or period)
Derivation:
grow (cultivate by growing, often involving improvements by means of agricultural techniques)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Example:
a growth of hair
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("growth" is a kind of...):
object; physical object (a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "growth"):
ingrowth (something that grows inward)
Sense 4
Meaning:
(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
Example:
he proposed an indicator of osseous development in children
Synonyms:
development; growing; growth; maturation; ontogenesis; ontogeny
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("growth" is a kind of...):
biological process; organic process (a process occurring in living organisms)
Meronyms (parts of "growth"):
gastrulation (the process in which a gastrula develops from a blastula by the inward migration of cells)
Domain category:
biological science; biology (the science that studies living organisms)
Domain member category:
isometry (the growth rates in different parts of a growing organism are the same)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "growth"):
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)
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)
culture ((biology) the growing of microorganisms in a nutrient medium (such as gelatin or agar))
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; efflorescence; florescence; flowering; inflorescence (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)
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)
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))
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)
Derivation:
grow (increase in size by natural process)
grow (cause to grow or develop)
grow (develop and reach maturity; undergo maturation)
Sense 5
Meaning:
A progression from simpler to more complex forms
Example:
the growth of culture
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("growth" is a kind of...):
development; evolution (a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage))
Derivation:
grow (develop and reach maturity; undergo maturation)
Sense 6
Meaning:
A process of becoming larger or longer or more numerous or more important
Example:
the growth of population
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("growth" is a kind of...):
physical process; process (a sustained phenomenon or one marked by gradual changes through a series of states)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "growth"):
broadening; widening (an increase in width)
relaxation ((physiology) the gradual lengthening of inactive muscle or muscle fibers)
pullulation (a rapid and abundant increase)
proliferation (a rapid increase in number (especially a rapid increase in the number of deadly weapons))
population growth (increase in the number of people who inhabit a territory or state)
multiplication (a multiplicative increase)
accretion ((astronomy) the formation of a celestial object by the effect of gravity pulling together surrounding objects and gases)
accretion ((biology) growth by addition as by the adhesion of parts or particles)
accretion ((geology) an increase in land resulting from alluvial deposits or waterborne sediment)
accretion; accumulation (an increase by natural growth or addition)
accession (a process of increasing by addition (as to a collection or group))
Derivation:
grow (become larger, greater, or bigger; expand or gain)
Sense 7
Meaning:
(pathology) an abnormal proliferation of tissue (as in a tumor)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("growth" is a kind of...):
illness; malady; sickness; unwellness (impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism)
Domain category:
pathology (the branch of medical science that studies the causes and nature and effects of diseases)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "growth"):
excrescence ((pathology) an abnormal outgrowth or enlargement of some part of the body)
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)
Context examples:
These two processes together only produced a quarter of an inch (7 millimeters) of growth — less than a third of the total.
(Sierras Lost Water Weight, Grew Taller During Drought, NASA)
Researchers examined the last 50 years’ growth of a stalagmite in the Mawmluh cave of India’s Meghalaya state.
(Cave stalagmites reveal India’s rainfall secrets, SciDev.Net)
However, subsequent work showed that improving triclosan’s ability to target ENR had no effect on parasite growth in the blood.
(Toothpaste ingredient may help fight drug-resistant malaria, University of Cambridge)
It may also block the growth of new blood vessels that tumors need to grow and may cause cancer cells to die.
(ABT-869, NCI Dictionary)
This gene may play a role in hepatocyte growth.
(ABTB2 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)
Altogether, this leads to the inhibition of cell proliferation and tumor growth as well as the induction of tumor regression.
(MEK/Aurora Kinase Inhibitor BI 847325, NCI Thesaurus)
MEK inhibitor AZD6244 blocks proteins needed for cell growth and may kill cancer cells.
(MEK inhibitor AZD6244, NCI Dictionary)
Melanoma-derived growth regulatory protein (131 aa, ~15 kDa) is encoded by the human MIA gene.
(Melanoma-Derived Growth Regulatory Protein, NCI Thesaurus)
As a result RNA transcription and protein synthesis are inhibited, ultimately leading to cell growth arrest and/or death.
(Melphalan Hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)
To the seeing eye decay is as fair as growth, and death as life.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)