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
One striking example is UHZ1, which reveals that accreting supermassive black holes were already in place just 470 million years after the Big Bang, with masses roughly 10 million times that of the sun.
—
Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 29 Jan. 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
Built from wool and cotton remnants of shuttered mills and dyed by hand, her pieces accrete by knots, each like a scar.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for accrete
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Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 29 Jan. 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
Built from wool and cotton remnants of shuttered mills and dyed by hand, her pieces accrete by knots, each like a scar.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for accrete
Cite this Entry
“Accrete.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accrete. Accessed 14 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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