Definition Definition

accretion - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'accretion' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Accretion [ n.]
- The act of increasing by natural growth; esp. the increase of organic bodies by the internal accession of parts; organic growth.
- The act of increasing, or the matter added, by an accession of parts externally; an extraneous addition; as, an accretion of earth.
- Concretion; coherence of separate particles; as, the accretion of particles so as to form a solid mass.
- A growing together of parts naturally separate, as of the fingers toes.
- The adhering of property to something else, by which the owner of one thing becomes possessed of a right to another; generally, gain of land by the washing up of sand or sail from the sea or a river, or by a gradual recession of the water from the usual watermark.
- Gain to an heir or legatee, failure of a coheir to the same succession, or a co-legatee of the same thing, to take his share.

Meaning of 'accretion' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . accretion [ n]
Meaning (1):
- something contributing to growth or increase
Example in sentence:
  • he scraped away the accretions of paint;
  • the central city surrounded by recent accretions