Definition of GROWTH RING

Examples of growth ring in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The researchers then used a microscope to count the growth rings on each slice of otolith. — Sean Landsman, National Geographic, "112-year-old fish has broken a longevity record," 2 Aug. 2019 Teeth have growth rings, much like trees, that determine age as well as minerals gained from the individual's diet. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Early humans breastfed their young for a year, study says," 15 July 2019 The tight and even growth rings are vital to the instrument’s tone quality. — Patrick Raycraft, courant.com, "Farmington’s Ed Bassett builds violins by hand, hour by hour, crafting masterpieces to last a lifetime," 11 July 2019 For example, researchers at the arboretum are investigating the Chicago region’s climate history by studying the wet and dry years recorded in the growth rings of old trees. — Beth Botts, chicagotribune.com, "Large, old trees are an important part of the history of our country and communities," 21 June 2019 To gauge the apparent threat, scientists assessed 21,786 Boswelia trees across 23 different sites in East Africa and estimated their ages by analyzing the growth rings of 202 trees. — Alex Fox, Science | AAAS, "World’s supply of frankincense could go up in smoke," 1 July 2019 Unlike trees such as redwoods and oaks, baobabs can’t simply be aged by counting their growth rings; as the trees grow, their rings fade or are erased, and their giant interior cavities make the remaining traces difficult to count. — National Geographic, "Africa's Oldest Trees Are Dying, and Scientists Are Stumped," 11 June 2018 Certain types including oak show cellular-level damage when swamped, and which is visible in the trees’ growth rings, providing an annual record of when the river overflowed. — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, "Taming the Mighty Mississippi May Have Caused Bigger Floods," 10 Apr. 2018 Inundate an oak tree for a couple weeks and that year’s growth ring will show damage at the cellular level. — Adam Rogers, WIRED, "Too Much Engineering Has Made Mississippi River Floods Worse," 4 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'growth ring.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.