burgeon

verb

bur·​geon ˈbər-jən 

variants or less commonly bourgeon

burgeoned also bourgeoned; burgeoning also bourgeoning; burgeons also bourgeons

intransitive verb

1

a

: to send forth new growth (such as buds or branches) : sprout

b

: bloom

when the flame trees and jacaranda are burgeoning

—Alan Carmichael

2

: to grow and expand rapidly : flourish

The market for her work has burgeoned in recent years.

tiny events which burgeon into national alarums

—Herman Wouk

Did you know?

Burgeon arrived in Middle English as burjonen, a borrowing from the Anglo-French verb burjuner, meaning "to bud or sprout." Burgeon is often used figuratively, as when writer Ta-Nehisi Coates used it in his 2008 memoir The Beautiful Struggle: "… I was in the burgeoning class of kids whose families made too much for financial aid but not enough to make tuition payments anything less than a war." Usage commentators have objected to the use of burgeon to mean "to flourish" or "to grow rapidly," insisting that any figurative use should stay true to the word's earliest literal meaning and distinguish budding or sprouting from subsequent growing. But the sense of burgeon that indicates growing or expanding and prospering (as in "the burgeoning music scene" or "the burgeoning international market") has been in established use for decades and is, in fact, the most common use of burgeon today.

Synonyms

• accelerate
• accumulate
• appreciate
• balloon
• boom
• build up
• climb
• enlarge
• escalate
• expand
• gain
• increase
• mount
• multiply
• mushroom
• proliferate
• rise
• roll up
• snowball
• spread
• swell
• wax

Examples of burgeon in a Sentence

The market for collectibles has burgeoned in recent years.

the trout population in the stream is burgeoning now that the water is clean

Recent Examples on the Web

The last three episodes in particular are dominated by the burgeoning conflict between liberal and conservative forces that becomes Colombia’s Thousand Days’ War. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Dec. 2024

In fact, the burgeoning explorer recently teamed with Booking.com’s Genius Loyalty Program for a Niagara Falls escape. —Demarco Williams, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024

The burgeoning field of social-emotional AI is tackling the very jobs that people used to think were reserved for human beings—jobs that rely on emotional connections, such as therapists, teachers, and coaches. —Allison Pugh, WIRED, 7 Dec. 2024

No stone was ever left unturned by Walter, who gave equal reverence to the work of the power players and burgeoning designers alike. —Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 5 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English burjonen, from Anglo-French burjuner, from burjun bud, from Vulgar Latin *burrion-, burrio, from Late Latin burra fluff, shaggy cloth

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

burgeon

verb

bur·​geon ˈbər-jən 

1

a

: to put forth new growth (as buds)

b

: bloom entry 2 sense 1

2

: expand sense 3, flourish