ScienceAugust 27, 2026

accreted

uh-KREE-tid

Definition

To have been gathered or added together into a larger mass or body through a gradual process of accumulation.

Etymology

Derived from the Latin 'accrescere,' meaning to grow or increase, formed by combining 'ad-' (to) and 'crescere' (to grow). It entered English in the 17th century to describe biological or geological growth by external addition.

In the news

The expert uses this term to describe how the fundamental iron, minerals, and grains in the early solar system slowly clumped together to form larger celestial bodies like asteroids.

Great Salt Lake meteorite lands in a new home

Read the full article ↗

The University of Utah

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