Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To make larger or greater, as by increased growth.
  • intransitive verb To grow together; fuse.
  • intransitive verb To grow or increase gradually, as by addition.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To grow by accretion; gather additions from without.
  • To be added; adhere; become attached by a process of accretion.
  • To cause to grow or unite.
  • Grown together; formed by accretion; accreted.
  • In biology, grown together: said of parts normally separate but naturally grafted. See accretion, 2.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To make adhere; to add.
  • intransitive verb To grow together.
  • intransitive verb To adhere; to grow (to); to be added; -- with to.
  • adjective Characterized by accretion; made up.
  • adjective (Bot.) Grown together.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive : To grow together, combine; to fuse.
  • verb intransitive : To adhere; to grow or to be added to gradually.
  • verb transitive : To make adhere; to add; to make larger or more, as by growing.
  • adjective Characterized by accretion; made up; as, accrete matter.
  • adjective botany Grown together - Gray

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb grow together (of plants and organs)
  • verb grow or become attached by accretion

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Back-formation from accretion.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Back-formation from accretion.

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Examples

  • One of the things that's always impressed me about the Stargate universe is how we gradually accrete technological advances (The various types of battleship, the 302s and the Pegasus Bridge all spring to mind).

    Stargate SG-1 Watchaton: Ask Joseph Mallozzi 2009

  • SFS: (Reader submitted) - One of the things that's always impressed me about the Stargate universe is how we gradually accrete technological advances (The various types of battleship, the 302s and the Pegasus Bridge all spring to mind).

    INTERVIEW: Consulting Producer Joseph Mallozzi Talks About Plans for Stargate Universe 2009

  • If you buy them at a discount, you will be able to accrete the negative good will and get an immediate positive response in earnings.

    Get Briefed: Richard Bove Alexandra Zendrian 2010

  • Usually, plot is something I allow to accrete while I'm tending to things like characterization and mood and theme.

    The Next to Last Day of May greygirlbeast 2010

  • Soil, trees and fauna accrete to the zaratan, the monstrous whalelike creatures, which are being poachedfor bones and skin, killing off a whole ecosystem.

    Movie Review: Avatar and a Comparison II « Colleen Anderson 2010

  • If you buy them at a discount, you will be able to accrete the negative good will and get an immediate positive response in earnings.

    Transcript: Richard Bove Steve Forbes 2010

  • If you buy them at a discount, you will be able to accrete the negative good will and get an immediate positive response in earnings.

    Get Briefed: Richard Bove Alexandra Zendrian 2010

  • And over the course of seven seasons, they accrete into interesting people as their backstories and personalities develop.

    Revisiting Star Trek [Part 1 of 7]: The Original Series 2009

  • If you buy them at a discount, you will be able to accrete the negative good will and get an immediate positive response in earnings.

    Transcript: Richard Bove Steve Forbes 2010

  • Usually, plot is something I allow to accrete while I'm tending to things like characterization and mood and theme.

    The Next to Last Day of May greygirlbeast 2010

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