Herman Wouk
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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.
Examples of burgeon in a Sentence
Condé Nast Traveler, 11 June 2026
The historic waterway connected the Atlantic Ocean and its burgeoning cities and ports to the Great Lakes system.
—Usa Today Network, USA Today, 10 June 2026
The trio is excited to bring burgeoning Shawnee a new local coffee shop.
—Jenna Thompson
june 10, Kansas City Star, 10 June 2026
With a culinary landscape that, for a long while, was encompassed largely of fine-dining institutions, no-fuss po’boy places, and Cajun comfort-food spots, New Orleans has certainly expanded its taste buds with a burgeoning guard of diverse restaurants and menus molded by many cultures.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for burgeon
Cite this Entry
“Burgeon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burgeon. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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burgeon
verb
