increases 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of increase
1
as in expands
to make greater in size, amount, or number we have to increase the number of season-ticket holders if the local sports franchise is to survive

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rises
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number the number of Internet users increased exponentially during the 1990s

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

increases

2 of 2

noun

plural of increase
1
as in boosts
something added (as by growth) shortly after he turned 12, he had a sudden height increase

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in accumulations
the act or process of becoming greater in number the increase in the number of students enrolled at the school was very gradual

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of increases
Verb
Treating these as separate challenges increases cost and complexity over time. — Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026 As the bleak second law of thermodynamics states, entropy always increases over time in a closed system. — Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026 This resistance increases fuel consumption, particularly at speeds above 31 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour). — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026 Contrast therapy alternates hot and cold exposure, driving vasodilation and vasoconstriction in what WHOOP calls a vascular pumping effect that increases blood flow and tissue oxygen delivery. — Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 2026 But, given that the hardware qubits are prone to errors, adding more of them also increases the probability that errors will occur. — ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026 The response comes as the French government increases scrutiny of online marketplaces following reports that goods stolen during Saturday’s unrest were being offered for sale online. — Sadie Andrew, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026 Rancho Cordova City Manager Micah Runner is set to receive a roughly 6% raise and a nearly $16,000 performance bonus after the City Council unanimously approved the compensation increases Monday. — Camryn Dadey, Sacbee.com, 20 Oct. 2026 If Skydance increases spending on content, that could push its competitors to also invest more, Laurent Yoon, senior analyst at the research and brokerage firm Bernstein, told me. — Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Noun
The government also promised 15,000 additional places in higher education, introduced across the next two years, and increases in student grants linked to inflation from the start of the next academic year. — Thomas Adamson, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026 Government bond investors want cuts to public spending, less borrowing and business-friendly measures aimed at boosting growth, such as reversing some of the payroll tax increases introduced under Reeves. — Ian King, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2026 Wages increases also have not translated to optimism among voters, though, and Democratic messaging ahead of the midterms have been focused on affordability. — Dylan Lysen, Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2026 CFOs at newly independent companies can see substantial increases in compensation. — Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2026 Landlords who live in one of their properties would be partly exempt from the caps on rent increases, and new apartments would be exempt for up to 20 years. — Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026 But his government partially retreated this year, pausing further increases. — Editorial Board, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2026 Scheibenbogen reports that the kids who cut out social media entirely showed modest increases in mental well-being that started wearing off five weeks later. — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026 With the combination of high-efficiency amplification and low-loss fiber, Petal doubles cable capacity without proportional power increases. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for increases
  1. expands
  2. rises
  3. boosts
  4. accumulations
  5. accelerates
  6. swells
  7. raises
  8. additions
Verb
  • This is becoming especially important as the AI economy expands.
    — H.E. Dr Abdulla Saif Al Jarwan, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Larger aircraft expands capacity The 737-10 typically seats between 185 and 210 passengers in a two-class configuration, although its maximum seating capacity reaches 230.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of expands
Verb
  • Pay that rises with credentials, a clear schedule and predictable work can do more for retention than a signing bonus.
    — Alok Chanani, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Step up to the more powerful rear-drive model and output rises to 282 hp, with a larger 77-kWh battery.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of rises
Noun
  • Iowa bettors regularly take advantage of BetMGM’s odds boosts and profit tokens for the four major sports.
    — OutKick, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Simple tilt fix Researchers found that tilting a cell relative to gravity boosts performance.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of boosts
Noun
  • Additional snow accumulations of 2 to 6 inches with 8 to 10 inches along the highest mountain peaks.
    — CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Some people experienced them as a purely optical means of aesthetic transport; others found in them tactile accumulations of crust, carnage, and debris.
    — Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of accumulations
Verb
  • But as the buildout accelerates, its physical costs are becoming harder to ignore.
    — Luke Fountain, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The green light comes as the Pentagon accelerates efforts to field reliable, portable nuclear power on Earth and in orbit.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of accelerates
Verb
  • Situated in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the population swells in the summer months.
    — Eva Flowe, Charlotte Observer, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The Seaglider is designed to handle ocean swells up to a meter and a half high.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of swells
Noun
  • The Legislature didn’t fund the raises before the July 1 start date but, after the union held rallies and voiced concerns, legislation to fund the wage increases were approved in late August.
    — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The pay raises were approved during a council meeting on Monday night.
    — Bryan Lynn, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of raises
Noun
  • Eventually, an edict from the top came that existing attorneys should not anticipate additions to the court teams, according to one source.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Oct. 2026
  • This offseason, the right additions could put them on a similar route.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of additions

Browse Nearby Words

increased
increases
increasing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Increases.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/increases. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All