accretion (redirected from accretionary)

accretion

1. Botany the growing together of normally separate plant or animal parts

2. Pathol

a. abnormal union or growing together of parts; adhesion

b. a mass of foreign matter collected in a cavity

3. Law an increase in the share of a beneficiary in an estate, as when a co-beneficiary fails to take his share

4. Astronomy the process in which matter under the influence of gravity is attracted to and increases the mass of a celestial body. The matter usually forms an accretion disc around the accreting object

5. Geology the process in which a continent is enlarged by the tectonic movement and deformation of the earth's crust

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accretion [ə′krē·shən]

(astronomy)

A process in which a star gathers molecules of interstellar gas to itself by gravitational attraction.

(civil engineering)

Artificial buildup of land due to the construction of a groin, breakwater, dam, or beach fill.

(geology)

Gradual buildup of land on a shore due to wave action, tides, currents, airborne material, or alluvial deposits.

The process whereby stones or other inorganic masses add to their bulk by adding particles to their surfaces. Also known as aggradation.

accretion tectonics

(meteorology)

The growth of a precipitation particle by the collision of a frozen particle (ice crystal or snowflake) with a supercooled liquid droplet which freezes upon contact.