growth
n. C / Un. the process of getting bigger, developing, or increasing in amount. You use this to talk about plants getting taller, businesses making more money, or people learning new skills.
n. the process of increasing in physical size, developing to maturity, or expanding in economic value. Frequently used in biological and financial contexts to describe positive progression or expansion.
The plant showed rapid growth after we moved it to a sunny window.
The company experienced significant financial growth this year, allowing them to hire fifty new employees.
Urban planners must carefully manage city growth to ensure that infrastructure, such as public transport and water sanitation, keeps pace with the expanding population.
From grow + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Compare Old Frisian grēd ("meadow, pasture"; > North Frisian greyde (“growth, pasture”)), Middle High German gruote, gruot (“greens, fresh growth, shoot”), Old Norse gróðr ("growth, crop"; > Faroese grøði, Danish grøde (“fruits”), Swedish gröda (“crop, harvest”)). More at grow.
Uncountable when referring to the general process of developing or increasing; countable when indicating a specific physical mass or a discrete instance of expansion.