growth ring

noun

annual ring.

Origin of growth ring

First recorded in 1905–10

Words nearby growth ring

growth hormone releasing factor, growth hormone-producing adenoma, growth hormone-releasing factor, growth line, growth rate, growth ring, growth shares, growth substance, growth-onset diabetes, groyne, grozing iron

British Dictionary definitions for growth ring

growth ring

noun

another name for annual ring

Scientific definitions for growth ring

growth ring

A layer of wood formed in a plant during a single period of growth. Growth rings are visible as concentric circles of varying width when a tree is cut crosswise. They represent layers of cells produced by vascular cambium.♦ Most growth rings reflect a full year's growth and are called annual rings. But abrupt changes in the environment, especially in the availability of water, can cause a plant to produce more than one growth ring in a year. See more at dendrochronology.
A similar layer in a part of an animal marking a period of growth, such as an annulus in a fish scale.