as in accumulating
to gradually form into a layer, pile, or mass
silt accreting at the mouth of the river over time
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Recent Examples of accreting
Instruments drift in and out, sometimes accreting into subtle polyrhythms or harmonies, and other times lightly undergirding Ederra’s gorgeous runs.
—
Stephen Kearse, Pitchfork, 11 Mar. 2026
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
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
Eventually the star stops accreting matter, leaving the disk in orbit around it.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
In many cases, similar accreting black holes are telltale signs of active galactic nuclei, but astronomers needed to examine the evidence more carefully.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 7 Aug. 2025
Stephen Kearse, Pitchfork, 11 Mar. 2026
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
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
Eventually the star stops accreting matter, leaving the disk in orbit around it.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
In many cases, similar accreting black holes are telltale signs of active galactic nuclei, but astronomers needed to examine the evidence more carefully.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for accreting
accumulating
Verb
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Another system arriving Friday evening and lasting into Saturday will bring accumulating snow, mainly west and northwest of the metro.—
Joseph Dames,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The stem side should face upward to prevent moisture from accumulating in the florets.—
Randi Gollin,
Martha Stewart,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Accreting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/accreting. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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