overgrowth

English

Etymology

From over- +‎ growth.

Pronunciation

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Noun

overgrowth (countable and uncountable, plural overgrowths)

1. A usually abundant, luxuriant growth over or on something else.
   1. A tangle of growth occurring at the top of trees involving vines and branches, common in jungles.
      • 1818, John Keats, “Book I”, in Endymion: A Poetic Romance, London: […] T[homas] Miller, […] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC, page 14, line 241:

        In desolate places where dank moisture breeds / The pipy Hemlock to strange overgrowth

2. An excessive growth or increase in numbers, as in a population of weeds or microbes.
3. Excessive size; usually caused by over-production of growth hormone from the pituitary gland.

Synonyms

• hyperplasia
• hypertrophy
• gigantism

Antonyms

• undergrowth