Definitions

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

  • intransitive verb To make (something already developed or well under way) greater, as in size, extent, or quantity: synonym: increase.
  • intransitive verb Linguistics To add an augment to.
  • intransitive verb To become augmented.
  • noun Linguistics The prefixation of a vowel accompanying a past tense, especially of Greek and Sanskrit verbs.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Increase; enlargement by addition; augmentation.
  • noun In grammar, an addition at the beginning of certain past indicative tenses of the verb in a part of the Indo-European languages.
  • noun In pathology, the period of a fever between its commencement and its height.
  • To increase; enlarge in size or extent; swell: as, to augment an army by reinforcement; impatience augments an evil.
  • In grammar, to add an augment to.
  • In heraldry, to make an honorable addition to, as a coat of arms.
  • To become greater in size, amount, degree, etc.; increase; grow larger.

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

  • intransitive verb To increase; to grow larger, stronger, or more intense.
  • noun Enlargement by addition; increase.
  • noun (Gram.) A vowel prefixed, or a lengthening of the initial vowel, to mark past time, as in Greek and Sanskrit verbs.
  • transitive verb To enlarge or increase in size, amount, or degree; to swell; to make bigger
  • transitive verb (Gram.) To add an augment to.

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

  • verb transitive To increase; to make larger or supplement.
  • verb intransitive, reflexive To grow; to increase; to become greater.
  • verb music To slow the tempo or meter, e.g. for a dramatic or stately passage.
  • verb music To increase an interval, especially the largest interval in a triad, by a half step (chromatic semitone).
  • noun grammar In some Indo-European languages, a prefix e- (a- in Sanskrit) indicating a past tense of a verb.

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

  • verb grow or intensify
  • verb enlarge or increase

Etymologies

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

[Middle English augmenten, from Old French augmenter, from Late Latin augmentāre, from Latin augmentum, an increase, from augēre, to increase; see aug- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English, from Old French augmenter, from Late Latin augmentare ("to increase"), from Latin augmentum ("an increase, growth"), from augere ("to increase").

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Examples

  • This may not be what most people imagine when they think of augmented reality, but it is perhaps the main money spinner for using data to "augment" the real world.

    Even Better Than the Real Thing Paul Skeldon 2011

  • Of course, that hasn't stopped Jasper Fforde from saying idiotic things like: "My thoughts on Fan Fiction are pretty much this: That it seems strange to want to copy or 'augment' someone else's work when you could expend just as much energy and have a lot more fun making up your own."

    Fan the Flames yuki_onna 2010

  • The 2008 treaty paved the way for Italy and Libya to "augment" their economic ties, said Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya's National Oil Co. and a former prime minister.

    Libya's Stakes in Italian Bank Touch a Nerve 2010

  • This supports efforts to "augment" its credit-card unit business, he said.

    Alliance Data Sells TALF-Backed Deal 2009

  • (*) (*) There is a pun in the French on the two meanings of the verb _hausser_, -- "to raise" and to "augment" or "run up."

    Cent nouvelles nouvelles L��on Leb��que 1896

  • So why not take this natural mixing and "augment" it with some involuntary wealth redistribution?

    US Market Commentary from Seeking Alpha The Inflation Trader 2010

  • Where the funds are going, and as Rose Ferlita so clearly pointed out in her arguments, the generosity to areas that disproportionately "augment" private business enterprise eg, sports authority beneficiaries, does not demonstrate a magnitude of benefit to justify the level in increased expenditure and are therefore ... inappropriate when other services are being left ...

    WN.com - Financial News 2010

  • Bamford went on to say that, "Microsoft has taken firmer control of the core experience," meaning that the Sense UI couldn't be fully integrated into Windows Phone 7 devices, but that they would "augment" the OS with extra functionality, which he remained tight-lipped about.

    Technology Blog (UK), Hi-Tech Gadgets & Gaming - Zath! 2010

  • Magnusson says he wants to use the wearable computer to "augment" his memory.

    Original Signal - Transmitting Gadgets 2010

  • So why not take this natural mixing and "augment" it with some involuntary wealth redistribution?

    SeekingAlpha.com: Home Page The Inflation Trader 2010

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