growth ring

Definition of growth ring

: a layer of wood (such as an annual ring) produced during a single period of growth

Examples of growth ring in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web By measuring how much Carbon-14 was in each growth ring, the scientists could calculate its age. — Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, "Could Atomic Weapons from the Cold War Save the World's Largest Fish?," 6 Apr. 2020 Variations in thickness, density, and chemical composition of growth rings reveal climatic conditions year by year. — Krista Stevens, Longreads, "The Stories of Notre Dame, as Told by Timber and Limestone," 19 Mar. 2020 Researchers analyzed the dry and wet cycles that have swept across western North America over centuries by examining the ancient records inscribed in the growth rings of trees. — Ian James, azcentral, "Supercharged by climate change, ‘megadrought’ points to drier future in the West," 6 May 2020 Variations in thickness, density, and chemical composition of growth rings reveal climatic conditions year by year. — Krista Stevens, Longreads, "The Stories of Notre Dame, as Told by Timber and Limestone," 19 Mar. 2020 The analysis provided accurate measurements of the width and number of daily growth rings as well as seasonal patterns. — Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, "Days were a half hour shorter when dinosaurs roamed the Earth 70 million years ago," 11 Mar. 2020 In another study, researchers studied trees’ growth rings and determined the American Southwest from 2000-2018 experienced its second driest 19-year period in the past 1,200 years. — Ian James, azcentral, "Facing water cutbacks, Arizona farmers 'in limbo' despite $10 million federal pledge," 24 Apr. 2020 Variations in thickness, density, and chemical composition of growth rings reveal climatic conditions year by year. — Krista Stevens, Longreads, "The Stories of Notre Dame, as Told by Timber and Limestone," 19 Mar. 2020 Dr Williams and his collaborators studied the annual growth rings of 1,586 ancient trees from Oregon and Montana all the way down to the northern reaches of Mexico, in order to reconstruct soil-moisture patterns going back to 800AD. — The Economist, "Climate change The American west’s drought is its second-worst for 12 centuries," 18 Apr. 2020

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.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about growth ring

Dictionary Entries near growth ring

growth potential

growth regulator

Statistics for growth ring

Cite this Entry

“Growth ring.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/growth%20ring. Accessed 16 Jan. 2021.

WORD OF THE DAY

effusive

Listen to the pronunciation of effusive

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Words of Snow and Ice Quiz

Which of the following refers to thin, bending ice, or to the act of running over such ice?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Anagram puzzles meet word search.