What does “increase” mean?
- 1
verbto become larger in amount or number, or make something larger
The number of students has increased this year.
- 2
nouna rise in amount, number or size
There has been an increase in prices.
Increase at a glance
- Part of speech
- verb & noun
- CEFR level
- A2 (elementary)
- Pronunciation
- /ɪnˈkris/ · in-KREES
How to use “increase” correctly
The verb is stressed on the second syllable (in-KREES), the noun on the first (IN-krees). Say “an increase in”, not “of”.
Common phrases with “increase”
- increase in sth
- sharp increase
- increase by 10%
- price increase
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Antonyms (opposite meaning)
- decrease
- reduce
Word family
- increasing
- increasingly
“increase” is on these word lists
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