accreted; accreting
: to grow or become attached by accretion
: to cause to adhere or become attached
also
: accumulate
Examples of accrete in a Sentence
silt accreting at the mouth of the river over time
Recent Examples on the Web
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
The spectral data provided by the JWST revealed hydrogen sulfide in the atmosphere of HR 8799 c, one of the system's inner giants, providing strong evidence that the planet formed by first assembling a solid core before rapidly accreting gas.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 10 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
See All Example Sentences for accrete
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Big Think, 20 Feb. 2026
The spectral data provided by the JWST revealed hydrogen sulfide in the atmosphere of HR 8799 c, one of the system's inner giants, providing strong evidence that the planet formed by first assembling a solid core before rapidly accreting gas.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 10 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
See All Example Sentences for accrete
Cite this Entry
“Accrete.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accrete. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
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accrete
verb
ac·crete
ə-ˈkrēt 
accreted; accreting
: to grow or become attached by accretion
: to cause to adhere or become attached
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