Accrete

//əˈkɹiːt// adj, verb

adj, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To grow together, combine; to fuse. intransitive

    "Astronomers believe the Earth began to accrete more than 4.6 billion years ago."

  2. 2
    grow or become attached by accretion wordnet
  3. 3
    To adhere; to grow or to be added to gradually. intransitive
  4. 4
    grow together (of plants and organs) wordnet
  5. 5
    To make adhere; to add; to make larger or more, as by growing. transitive

    "the reader has not only mastered this distinction , but that he has so thoroughly accreted it and assimilated it to his habits of mind"

Adjective
  1. 1
    Characterized by accretion; made up. not-comparable

    "accrete matter"

  2. 2
    Grown together. not-comparable

    "Fruit coriaceous, crowned with accrete calyx"

Synonyms

All synonyms
accrueadglutinategrow together

Example

More examples

"When a word is borrowed from another language, it frequently begins by having the same meaning; but with continued use in both languages, the now separate words may accrete disparate connotations."

Etymology

Back-formation from accretion.

More for "accrete"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.