Definition of “increase” - English Dictionary

American
Contents

“increase” in English

See all translations

increaseverb [ I or T ]

uk ​ /ɪnˈkriːs/ us ​ /ɪnˈkriːs/

B1 to (make something) become larger in amount or size:

Incidents of armed robbery have increased over the last few years.
The cost of the project has increased dramatically/significantly since it began.
Gradually increase the temperature to boiling point.
Increased/Increasing efforts are being made to end the dispute.
Compare
decrease verb

More examples

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

increasenoun [ C or U ]

uk ​ /ˈɪn.kriːs/ us ​ /ˈɪn.kriːs/

B2 a rise in the amount or size of something:

price/tax increases
There were 39,000 new cases last year - an increase of six percent.
Any increase in production would be helpful.
on the increase

C1 increasing:

Homelessness is on the increase in many cities.

More examples

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

(Definition of “increase” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“increase” in American English

See all translations

increaseverb [ I/T ]

us ​ /ɪnˈkris, ˈɪn·kris/

› to become or make something larger or greater:

[ T ] They’ve increased the price of gas by two cents a gallon.
[ I ] Pressure is increasing to make health insurance more widely available.

increasenoun [ C/U ]

us ​ /ˈɪn·kris/

› the act of becoming larger or greater or of making something larger or greater:

[ C ] There was a slight increase in unemployment last month.
Homelessness is on the increase (= increasing) in many cities.

(Definition of “increase” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

“increase” in Business English

See all translations

increaseverb [ I or T ]

uk ​ /ɪnˈkriːs/ us ​

› to become larger in amount or size, or to make something do this:

increase by sth Sales have increased by 10%.
increase to sth Our gross margin increased to 24%.
increase in price/size/value Over the past two years the department has increased in size.
the number/rate/level increases Staffing numbers increase during the summer months.
increase gradually/slowly/steadily Bookings are increasing steadily.
Interest rates have increased slightly.
increase dramatically/rapidly/significantly The volume of work has increased dramatically.
increase efficiency/production/productivity The new measures are intended to increase efficiency.
to increase costs/prices/sales
This process greatly increases manufacturing speeds.
increasing
adjective

›

An increasing number of customers shop online.
increasingly
adverb

›

Borrowers are becoming increasingly aware of their options, and tend to shop around.

increasenoun [ C or U ]

uk ​ /ˈɪnkriːs/ us ​

› a situation in which the number, size, or amount of something gets bigger:

a pay/price/tax increase Customers stocked up, anticipating a January price increase.
an increase in sth Businesses are facing a 12% increase in energy costs.
an increase of sth Revenue last year was $347 million, an increase of 26%.
a dramatic/significant/substantial increase
a small/slight/steady increase
See also
rise
on the increase

› increasing:

Credit card fraud is on the increase.

(Definition of “increase” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Help us add to the Cambridge Dictionary!

These examples are from external sources. Click on the icon to tell us if any are not OK.

increase

We must also increase the participation of women, immigrants, older workers and disabled people in the labour market, and adapt tax and benefit systems to make work pay.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
We believe that all actions which ultimately allow us to increase our growth potential must be treated in the same way.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
In some cases laws are still made by civil servants; in certain areas this is a practice that is even on the increase.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Thus the violence continues to increase.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Adding substances that have never been used before to encourage fish to grow fast and thus increase the yield may contribute to further contamination of the sea.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
There are calls to increase this amount.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
I hope this list will evolve over time as new diseases appear, in order to increase the efficiency of product distribution and quality control frameworks.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Far from constituting barriers to the implementation of the agreement under consideration, these observations - and we would emphasise this - are an attempt to increase its relevance and durability.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Adoption of this report would have the opposite effect, that is, a dramatic increase in the levels of emissions from transit traffic.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
The strategy naturally anticipates an increase in the primary surplus and, to put it another way, using growth potential essentially in order to reduce taxes.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Translations of “increase”
 
Need a translator?

Translator tool

Get a quick, free translation!

What is the pronunciation of increase?
Browse