proliferate
verb
Did you know?
Proliferate is a back-formation of proliferation. That means that proliferation came first (we borrowed it from French in the 1700s), and was later shortened to form the verb. Proliferation originally referred to the botanical phenomenon of some plants having buds, flowers, or other parts that are adventitious—that is, that arise or occur sporadically or in other than the usual location (e.g. pitch pines’ ability to sprout new trees directly from their stumps after a fire). With advances in the study of biology in the 1800s, proliferation came to be used to refer to the rapid and repeated production of cells by division. That sense in turn begat the verb proliferate, which eventually came to be used when anything—whether living (such as yeast) or nonliving (such as data)—quickly increases or multiplies.
Examples of proliferate in a Sentence
Maya Silver, Outside, 21 Oct. 2025
Although many Americans are only just beginning to take notice, indoor climbing gyms have steadily proliferated ever since.
—Kelli María Korducki, HubSpot, 17 Oct. 2025
State leaders established it six years ago in order to buy time to implement reforms before allowing such charters to proliferate.
—Kristen Taketa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Oct. 2025
Last year, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Ghana’s sprawling capital Accra to demand the government take action, with hashtags #stopgalamseynow and #freethecitizens proliferating on social media.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for proliferate
Cite this Entry
“Proliferate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proliferate. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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proliferate
verb
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proliferate
verb
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