growth

noun

Etymology: 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.

1. An increase in size, number, value, or strength.

   “It may be that a free society as we have known it carries in itself the forces of its own destruction, that once freedom has been achieved it is taken for granted and ceases to be valued, and that the free growth of ideas which is the essence of a free society will bring about the destruction of the foundations on which it depends.”

2. Ellipsis of economic growth.

   “Growth was dampened by a softening of the global economy in 2001, but picked up in the subsequent years due to strong growth in China.”

   “Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.[…]Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today.”

3. An increase in psychological strength or resilience; an increased ability to overcome adversity.

   “Struggle, disappointment, and criticism all contribute to a person's growth.”

4. The act of growing, getting bigger or higher.
5. Something that grows or has grown.

   “Scary-looking rabbits were hopping around Fort Collins. These weren’t your standard cute, fluffy bunnies; they had horn-like growths protruding from their faces and bodies.”

6. An abnormal mass such as a tumor.