Definition of "proliferate" [pro•lif•er•ate]

• To grow or multiply by rapidly producing new tissue, parts, cells, or offspring. (verb-intransitive)
• To increase or spread at a rapid rate: fears that nuclear weapons might proliferate. (verb-intransitive)
• To cause to grow or increase rapidly. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "As titles for the entitled proliferate, we are in danger of becoming a nation of all chiefs and no Indians."
• "And as these labels proliferate to envelop just about every piece of unconventional childhood behavior, our view of what is normal is shrinking."
• "Momentum trades-trades, not investments- can gather momentum on the downside in a steeper run if the margin calls proliferate."