Ways to Talk about Increasing in English

Ways to Talk about Increasing in English

Hello, English learners! Welcome to a new lesson from My Lingua Academy. Our teachers work hard to provide you with useful materials to help you boost your English vocabulary and sound more natural in conversations and exams. Today, we’ll explore different ways to talk about “increasing” in English — a word that is used in everyday language, business contexts, and academic writing.

 👉 If you haven’t yet, check out our related post: Ways to Talk about Decreasing in English.

The word increase

Increase can be used both as a verb and a noun:

Verb: to make something bigger in size, degree, number, etc.

• The company is trying to increase production in some Asian countries.

Noun: the act of becoming larger or greater.

• There’s been a sharp increase in sales due to inflation.

Common Collocations with “Increase”

Here are some natural ways we use increase in English:

• There’s been a significant increase in profit in the past quarter.
• The number of people who stopped smoking has dramatically increased.
• Our flat has increased in value over the years.
• The charity fund has increased by £3 million this year.
• The government announced a tax increase.
• The cold weather brought about an increase in electricity consumption.

Vocabulary to talk about “Increasing”

Here are some useful words and expressions you can use instead of increase:

be on the increase – boost – double/triple – go up – grow – push up – put up – rise – rocket/skyrocket – soar – step up

Let’s look at each one in context 👇

Be on the increase

Meaning: to be increasing.

• Obesity is on the increase, especially among teenagers.
• Data analysis shows that silk production is on the increase.

Boost

Meaning: to improve or increase something, especially profits or confidence.

• They tried to boost sales by lowering prices.
• This new city car is expected to boost business for the company.

Double / Triple

Meaning: to increase something twofold or threefold.

• The lake doubles in size in spring when the snow melts.
• The company managed to triple its profits last year.

Go up

Meaning: (informal) to increase in amount, level, or price.

• After the pandemic, food and fuel prices went up sharply.
• Sales of travel accessories always go up in summer.

Grow

Meaning: to increase gradually over time.

• It’s expected that the market for electric cars will grow steadily.
• Their friendship grew stronger over the years.

Push up

Meaning: to cause something to rise in amount or level.

• Wages were pushed up after the company signed a big deal.
• The rise in fuel prices pushed up inflation.

Put up

Meaning: (informal) to raise or increase something, such as prices or taxes.

• The government put up gas prices just before winter.
• Banks have put up interest rates again.

Rise

Meaning: to increase in number, amount, or level.

• The number of unemployed people is rising rapidly.
• Investments in the building industry rose by 14% last year.

Rocket / Skyrocket

Meaning: to increase suddenly and dramatically.

• Website traffic rocketed after the product launch.
• Hotel prices skyrocketed during the summer holidays.

Soar

Meaning: to rise very quickly to a high level.

• This summer, temperatures soared above 35°C.
• Property prices are expected to soar after the war.

Step up

Meaning: to increase your efforts or activities to achieve a goal.

• The government is planning to step up efforts to help flood victims.
• If you want results, you’ll need to step up your training.

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