# exponentially

/ˌɛkspoʊˈnɛnʃəɫi/ (US) · /ˌɛkspənˈɛnʃəlˌi/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/exponentially
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. mathematical growth

adverb · CEFR C1 · Academic · Technical

describes a quantity that grows at a rate that keeps getting faster.

For teachers: relating to an increase expressed by an exponential function, where the rate of change is proportional to the function's current value.

- The bacteria in the lab dish grew exponentially every hour.
- In the early stages of the epidemic, the number of new infections increased exponentially before public health interventions began to take effect.

Usage: Commonly modifies verbs of growth like 'increase', 'grow', or 'expand'.

### 2. very rapidly

adverb · CEFR C1 · Informal

used to say that something is increasing by a very large amount in a short time.

For teachers: used in a non-technical sense to denote extremely rapid or vast increases in scale or intensity.

- The popularity of the new app grew exponentially after the celebrity's post.
- The complexity of the project has increased exponentially since we added the third phase to the original plan.

Teaching tip: Strict grammarians and scientists often dislike this informal use, preferring 'rapidly' unless the growth truly follows a mathematical curve.

## Examples

- The number of users is growing exponentially.
- Since the new marketing campaign launched, our online sales have increased exponentially every month.
- While the population grew linearly, the demand for digital bandwidth expanded exponentially, eventually overwhelming the existing infrastructure and requiring a total system overhaul.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.