It's when the lit up portion of the body (usually referring to our moon) is getting larger, approaching full.
Waxing and waning.
Waxing phases - including waxing crescent, first quarter, and waxing gibbous - are when the amount of lighted surface seen on Earth increases. During these phases, the Moon transitions from being mostly dark to mostly lit as it approaches the full moon.
The moon phases from a new moon to a full moon is known as waxing. The moon phases from full moon to the next new moon is waning.
8 phases occur 4 wanning 4 waxing types
Waxing crescent, waxing gibbous, waning gibbous, waning crescent, new moon.
Starting from a full moon, the phases of the moon are: waxing gibbous first quarter waxing crescent new third quarter waning gibbous full
Full, New, Quarter, Waning/ Waxing Gibbous, Waning/ Waxing Crescent, and Half.
The two phases of a waxing Moon are the first quarter and gibbous. During the first quarter, half of the Moon is illuminated and appears as a half-circle in the sky. During the gibbous phase, more than half but not yet fully illuminated, the Moon appears as a large, slightly bulging shape.
New moon, waxing moon, first quarter and waxing gibbous are moon phases. Additional moon phases include full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter and waning crescent.
The eight moon phases are New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, and Waning Crescent. These phases represent the different stages in the lunar cycle as viewed from Earth.
waxing
Those are called the "phases" of the Moon. The Moon can be "full", meaning we can see all of the sunlit hemisphere. It can be "new", meaning we can't see any of it in sunlight. Between those phases are "waxing and waning crescents" and "waxing and waning gibbous", and the "first and third quarter phases". The actual order of the phases is: New, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full, waning gibbous, third quarter, waning crescent.