Definition of ACCRETION

accretion

Meanings

Plural: accretions

Noun

  • an increase by natural growth or addition
  • something contributing to growth or increase
    • "he scraped away the accretions of paint"
    • "the central city surrounded by recent accretions"
  • (astronomy) the formation of a celestial object by the effect of gravity pulling together surrounding objects and gases
  • (biology) growth by addition as by the adhesion of parts or particles
  • (geology) an increase in land resulting from alluvial deposits or waterborne sediment
  • (law) an increase in a beneficiary's share in an estate (as when a co-beneficiary dies or fails to meet some condition or rejects the inheritance)
  • Increase by natural growth, especially the gradual increase of organic bodies by the internal addition of matter; organic growth; also, the amount of such growth.
  • (Gradual) increase by an external addition of matter; (countable) an instance of this.
  • (Gradual) increase by an external addition of matter; (countable) an instance of this.
  • The process by which material is added to a geological feature; specifically, to a tectonic plate at a subduction zone.
  • Followed by of: external addition of matter to a thing which causes it to grow, especially in amount or size.
  • The process of separate particles aggregating or coalescing together; concretion; (countable) a thing formed in this manner.
  • The process of separate particles aggregating or coalescing together; concretion; (countable) a thing formed in this manner.
  • The formation of planets, stars, and other celestial bodies by the aggregating of matter drawn together by gravity; also, the growth of a celestial body through this process.
  • Something gradually added to or growing on a thing externally.
  • Something gradually added to or growing on a thing externally.
  • A substance which has built up on the surface of an object, rather than become embedded in it.
  • Increase in property by the addition of other property to it (for example, gain of land by alluvion (“the deposition of sediment by a river or sea”) or dereliction (“recession of water from the usual watermark”), or entitlement to the products of the property such as interest on money); or by the property owner acquiring another person’s ownership rights; accession; (countable) an instance of this.
  • Increase of an inheritance to an heir or legatee due to the share of a co-heir or co-legatee being added to it, because the latter person is legally unable to inherit the share.

Origin / Etymology

PIE word
*h₂éd
Learned borrowing from Latin accrētiō (“increase, increment”) + English -ion (suffix forming nouns denoting actions or processes, or their results). Accrētiō is derived from accrēscō (“to grow, increase”) + -tiō (suffix forming nouns denoting actions or processes, or their results); and accrēscō is from ac- (a variant of ad-, prefix meaning ‘to’, or having an intensifying effect) + crēscō (“to grow; to increase”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“to cause to grow; to grow; to nourish”)).
Doublet of accrue, crescent, and increase.

Scrabble Score: 13

accretion is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
accretion is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
accretion is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 16

accretion is a valid Words With Friends word