обраста́ние

rare #54983

nounneuterinanimateuncountable

1.
overgrowing, becoming overgrown, fouling, build-up (of deposits)
При обраста́нии кора́ллами затону́вший кора́бль стал похо́ж на риф.
As it became overgrown with corals, the sunken ship started to look like a reef.
Of surfaces covered by living organisms (algae, barnacles, moss) or by layers such as rust or scale; in a marine context = biofouling.
2.
gradual acquiring, accumulation (of contacts or details), building up
Обраста́ние поле́зными свя́зями за́няло у него го́ды.
Building up useful connections took him years.
Typically обрастание связями / подробностями / имуществом.
3.
(rare) becoming philistine, settling into a bourgeois routine, adopting alien habits
Его пугало обраста́ние бы́том и меща́нством.
He was afraid of sinking into a philistine daily routine.
Disapproving; typical of Soviet-era usage.

Examples

Обрастание днища корабля ракушками замедляет движение.
The accumulation of barnacles on the ship’s hull slows it down.
Учёные изучают обрастание камней водорослями в реке.
Scientists are studying the growth of algae on rocks in the river.
Обрастание старого забора мхом заняло несколько лет.
It took several years for the old fence to become covered in moss.