accrete

verb

ac·​crete ə-ˈkrēt How to pronounce accrete (audio)
accreted; accreting

intransitive verb

: to grow or become attached by accretion

transitive verb

: to cause to adhere or become attached
also : accumulate

Examples of accrete in a Sentence

silt accreting at the mouth of the river over time
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
An artist’s illustration of an accreting supermassive black hole. Fan Zou, Discover Magazine, 20 July 2024 There is also a supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy (Sgr A*), but there is not yet enough material that has accreted for astronomers to pick up any emitted radiation, even in the infrared. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 18 June 2024 While the federal bureaucracy was accreting independent administrative authority, however, conservatives in the 1970s and 1980s were embracing a rival interpretation of the constitutional separation of powers known as the unitary executive theory. Stephen I. Vladeck, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2021 Sherman works alone, in a Tribeca studio or in a converted barn on her property in East Hampton, which are now chockablock with wigs, costumes, props, and prostheses, accreted over years of rummaging. Chris Wiley, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for accrete 

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from accretion

First Known Use

1712, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of accrete was in 1712

Dictionary Entries Near accrete

Cite this Entry

“Accrete.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accrete. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.

Legal Definition

accrete

verb
ac·​crete ə-ˈkrēt How to pronounce accrete (audio)
accreted; accreting

intransitive verb

: to grow or become attached by accretion

transitive verb

: to cause to adhere or become attached

More from Merriam-Webster on accrete

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