ACCRETION
Dictionary entry overview: What does accretion mean?
• ACCRETION (noun)
The noun ACCRETION has 6 senses:
1. an increase by natural growth or addition
2. something contributing to growth or increase
3. (astronomy) the formation of a celestial object by the effect of gravity pulling together surrounding objects and gases
4. (biology) growth by addition as by the adhesion of parts or particles
5. (geology) an increase in land resulting from alluvial deposits or waterborne sediment
6. (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)
Familiarity information: ACCRETION used as a noun is common.
Dictionary entry details
• ACCRETION (noun)
Meaning:
An increase by natural growth or addition
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Synonyms:
accretion; accumulation
Hypernyms ("accretion" is a kind of...):
growth; increase; increment (a process of becoming larger or longer or more numerous or more important)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "accretion"):
backup (an accumulation caused by clogging or a stoppage)
buildup (the result of the process of accumulation)
deposit; deposition (the natural process of laying down a deposit of something)
Meaning:
Something contributing to growth or increase
Classified under:
Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure
Context examples:
he scraped away the accretions of paint / the central city surrounded by recent accretions
Hypernyms ("accretion" is a kind of...):
addition; gain; increase (a quantity that is added)
Meaning:
(astronomy) the formation of a celestial object by the effect of gravity pulling together surrounding objects and gases
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("accretion" is a kind of...):
growth; increase; increment (a process of becoming larger or longer or more numerous or more important)
Domain category:
astronomy; uranology (the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole)
Meaning:
(biology) growth by addition as by the adhesion of parts or particles
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("accretion" is a kind of...):
growth; increase; increment (a process of becoming larger or longer or more numerous or more important)
Domain category:
biological science; biology (the science that studies living organisms)
Meaning:
(geology) an increase in land resulting from alluvial deposits or waterborne sediment
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("accretion" is a kind of...):
growth; increase; increment (a process of becoming larger or longer or more numerous or more important)
Domain category:
geology (a science that deals with the history of the earth as recorded in rocks)
Meaning:
(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)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession
Hypernyms ("accretion" is a kind of...):
heritage; inheritance (that which is inherited; a title or property or estate that passes by law to the heir on the death of the owner)
Domain category:
jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)
