accretion

1. Increase in the value of a firm through internal expansion, acquisitions, and/or mergers.

2. Increase in value of certain assets (such as land, liquor, livestock, and timber) due to passage of time, and which can be turned into cash (realized) only upon eventual sale of the asset.

3. Increase in land area due to the permanent retreat of the high-water mark of a water front property or by soil deposition by river, stream, or sea waters. See also reliction.