- often followed by forth or out: (of a plant) to sprout (buds)
- (intr; often followed by forth or out) to develop or grow rapidly; flourish
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
bur•geon /ˈbɜrdʒən/USA pronunciation
v. [no object]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to grow or develop quickly;
flourish: The town was burgeoning into a city.
bur•geon
(bûr′jən),USA pronunciation v.i.
v.t.
n.
- to grow or develop quickly;
flourish:The town burgeoned into a city. He burgeoned into a fine actor. - to begin to grow, as a bud;
put forth buds, shoots, etc., as a plant (often fol. by out, forth).
v.t.
- to put forth, as buds.
n.
- a bud;
sprout.
- Anglo-French, Old French, derivative of the noun, nominal
- Vulgar Latin *burriōne(m), accusative of *burriō, derivative of Late Latin burra wool, fluff (compare bourrée, bureau), presumably from the down covering certain buds; (verb, verbal) Middle English burg(e)onen, borgen
- Anglo-French burjun, burg(e)on; Old French burjon
- 1275–1325; (noun, nominal) Middle English burjon, burion; shoot, bud
- 1. bloom, blossom, mushroom, expand.
- The two senses of burgeon, "to bud'' (The maples are burgeoning) and "to grow or flourish'' (The suburbs around the city have been burgeoning under the impact of commercial growth), date from the 14th century. Today the sense "to grow or flourish'' is the more common. Occasionally, objections are raised to the use of this sense, perhaps because of its popularity in journalistic writing.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
burgeon, bourgeon /ˈbɜːdʒən/ vb
'burgeoned' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):