# accretion

> English word · Noun · IPA /əˈkɹiːʃn̩/ · frequency rank #37,788

## Definitions
1. Increase by natural growth, especially the gradual increase of organic bodies by the internal addition of matter; organic growth; also, the amount of such growth.
2. (Gradual) increase by an external addition of matter; (countable) an instance of this.
3. (Gradual) increase by an external addition of matter; (countable) an instance of this.
4. Followed by of: external addition of matter to a thing which causes it to grow, especially in amount or size.
5. The process of separate particles aggregating or coalescing together; concretion; (countable) a thing formed in this manner.
6. The process of separate particles aggregating or coalescing together; concretion; (countable) a thing formed in this manner.
7. Something gradually added to or growing on a thing externally.
8. Something gradually added to or growing on a thing externally.
9. Increase in property by the addition of other property to it (for example, gain of land by alluvion (“the deposition of sediment by a river or sea”) or dereliction (“recession of water from the usual watermark”), or entitlement to the products of the property such as interest on money); or by the property owner acquiring another person’s ownership rights; accession; (countable) an instance of this.
10. Increase of an inheritance to an heir or legatee due to the share of a co-heir or co-legatee being added to it, because the latter person is legally unable to inherit the share.

## Etymology
PIE word
 *h₂éd
Learned borrowing from Latin accrētiō (“increase, increment”) + English -ion (suffix forming nouns denoting actions or processes, or their results). Accrētiō is derived from accrēscō (“to grow, increase”) + -tiō (suffix forming nouns denoting actions or processes, or their results); and accrēscō is from ac- (a variant of ad-, prefix meaning ‘to’, or having an intensifying effect) + crēscō (“to grow; to increase”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“to cause to grow; to grow; to nourish”)).
Doublet of accrue, crescent, and increase.

## Common misspellings (12)
`accertion`, `accreiton`, `accresion`, `accretino`, `accretionn`, `accretoin`, `accrettion`, `accrretion`, `accrteion`, `acrcetion`, `acretion`, `cacretion`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/accretion