1. A process of becoming larger or longer or more numerous or more important
   "the growth of population";
   - increase, increment
    
2. (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
   "he proposed an indicator of osseous growth in children";
   - growing, maturation, development, ontogeny, ontogenesis
    
3. A progression from simpler to more complex forms
   "the growth of culture"
    
4. Vegetation that has grown
   "a growth of trees"; "the only growth was some salt grass"
    
5. The gradual beginning or coming forth
   "figurines presage the growth of sculpture in Greece";
   - emergence, outgrowth
    
6. (pathology) an abnormal proliferation of tissue (as in a tumour)
   "The CT scan revealed a suspicious growth in her lung"
    
7. Something grown or growing
   "a growth of hair"

Derived forms: growths

Type of: article, beginning, biological process, botany, development, evolution, flora, illness, malady, object, organic process, physical object, physical process, process, sickness, unwellness, vegetation

Antonym: decrement, nondevelopment

Encyclopedia: Growth