noun.
The phase of metabolism in which simple substances are synthesized into the complex materials of living tissue.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
noun.
Assimilation; antegrade metamorphosis; constructive metabolism, or ascending metabolic processes by which a substance is transformed into another which is more complex or more highly organized and more energetic.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
noun.
The constructive metabolism of the body, as distinguished from catabolism.