ENGLISH
REFERENCE

growth in sth

prep. phr..
B1 Intermediate Oxford

prep. phr.. an increase in the size, amount, or importance of something.

prep. phr.. a noun phrase followed by a prepositional complement indicating the specific domain or variable that is increasing.


SIMPLE

There is a growth in sales this month.

CONTEXTUAL

The city has seen a rapid growth in population over the last ten years.

COMPLEX

Economists are predicting a significant growth in renewable energy investment as fossil fuel prices continue to fluctuate globally.

Usage

the preposition 'in' identifies the specific area where the increase is happening.

Teaching tip

help students distinguish this from 'growth of', which often refers to the development of the subject itself rather than a statistical increase in a category.

Pitfall

The growth on the economy is slow.The growth in the economy is slow.the preposition 'in' is the standard choice to show the area or sector that is increasing.

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