as in to accumulate
to gradually form into a layer, pile, or mass
silt accreting at the mouth of the river over time
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Recent Examples of accrete
For the first few billion years of cosmic history, galaxies formed and grew by accreting more and more material from the intergalactic medium, as well as by merging together to form larger, more mature galaxies.
—
Big Think, 20 Feb. 2026
Meanwhile ice can accrete on both the top and underside of branches and power lines.
—Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 26 Jan. 2026
X-ray data revealed that the black hole is accreting material at roughly 13 times the Eddington limit, placing it among the fastest-growing black holes known at this mass scale.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 23 Jan. 2026
Built from wool and cotton remnants of shuttered mills and dyed by hand, her pieces accrete by knots, each like a scar.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for accrete
Big Think, 20 Feb. 2026
Meanwhile ice can accrete on both the top and underside of branches and power lines.
—Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 26 Jan. 2026
X-ray data revealed that the black hole is accreting material at roughly 13 times the Eddington limit, placing it among the fastest-growing black holes known at this mass scale.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 23 Jan. 2026
Built from wool and cotton remnants of shuttered mills and dyed by hand, her pieces accrete by knots, each like a scar.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for accrete
Recent Examples of Synonyms for accrete
accumulate
Verb
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Dander, fur, and dust can accumulate quickly, especially in spaces with carpeting or heavy foot traffic, where particles tend to settle and recirculate throughout the day.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
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As people returned from their Earth Week effort to clear trash accumulated over the winter from Waukegan Municipal Beach on Saturday, two were lugging large rusted pieces of steel.—
Steve Sadin,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Accrete.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/accrete. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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