outgrowth

noun

out·​growth ˈau̇t-ˌgrōth 

1

: a process or product of growing out

an outgrowth of hair

2

: consequence, by-product

crime is often an outgrowth of poverty

Synonyms

• offshoot
• shoot
• sprout

Examples of outgrowth in a Sentence

trimmed back some of the tree's outgrowths so they wouldn't interfere with the power lines

a predictable outgrowth of the suburb's ever growing population will be the need for more schools

Recent Examples on the Web

Coppola’s film is disorienting and disturbing, using Vietnam to capture the insanity of all war and drawing on Conrad to suggest that war might just be an outgrowth of an awfulness at the core of humanity itself. —Keith Phipps, Vulture, 26 May 2024

The field has historically emphasized the idea of multicellularity as an outgrowth of eukaryotes’ special abilities rather than as a result of how their genomes work. —Quanta Magazine, 2 May 2024

The man called Jelly Roll explained his genre-mashing musical proclivities as an outgrowth of his upbringing in Nashville, Tennessee. —Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 14 Apr. 2024

Students need to study the different regions of the world in terms of their own contradictions and problems and not just as outgrowths of U.S. foreign policy. —Foreign Affairs, 28 Sep. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1837, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

outgrowth

noun

out·​growth ˈau̇t-ˌgrōth 

1

: something that grows out of or develops from something else

2

: offshoot sense 1, by-product

Medical Definition

outgrowth

noun

out·​growth ˈau̇t-ˌgrōth 

1

: the process of growing out

in vitro, dopamine modifies axonal and dendritic outgrowth

—Linda C. Mayes

2

: something that grows directly out of something else

an outgrowth of hair

a bony outgrowth