burgeon
Americanverb (used without object)
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to grow or develop quickly; flourish.
The town burgeoned into a city. He burgeoned into a fine actor.
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to be brimming or filled to bursting; abound (usually followed by with).
All the new students are burgeoning with energy and potential. The kitchen drawers were burgeoning with tea towels.
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to begin to grow, as a bud; put forth buds, shoots, etc., as a plant (often followed byout, forth ).
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
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(of a plant) to sprout (buds)
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(intr; often foll by forth or out) to develop or grow rapidly; flourish
noun
Usage
The two senses of burgeon, “to bud” ( The maples are burgeoning ) and “to grow or flourish” ( The suburbs around the city have been burgeoning under the impact of commercial growth ), date from the 14th century. Today the sense “to grow or flourish” is the more common. Occasionally, objections are raised to the use of this sense, perhaps because of its popularity in journalistic writing.
Etymology
Origin of burgeon
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English noun burjon, burion “shoot, bud,” from Anglo-French burjun, burg(e)on; Old French burjon, from unattested Vulgar Latin burriōne(m), accusative of unattested burriō, derivative of Late Latin burra “wool, fluff“ ( bourrée, bureau ), presumably from the down covering certain buds; verb derivative of the noun
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As clearly as Andie might be able to see herself, it’s far more difficult for her to see the flaws in her burgeoning romance with Blane until they become glaringly apparent.
From Salon
Her “embrace of homeopathy fitted with her other burgeoning reform enthusiasms,” Ms. DuBois observes.
Around 2012, he and a wealthy friend relocated across the Atlantic to the burgeoning underground dance scene in Brooklyn.
As a burgeoning teenager in 2024, Soul went with his father to the world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, along with a plethora of Korean relatives from his mom’s side.
From Los Angeles Times
However, the lack of a full recovery in the automotive segment still poses a major overhang for analog semiconductors, overshadowing their burgeoning data-center businesses.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
