accretion
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.
Other meanings
(Gradual) increase by an external addition of matter; an instance of this.
The process by which material is added to a geological feature; specifically, to a tectonic plate at a subduction zone.
Example sentences
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “accretion” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.