grow up

verb

grew up; grown up; growing up; grows up

intransitive verb

1

a

: to grow toward or arrive at full stature or physical or mental maturity : to progress from childhood toward adulthood

growing up intellectually

grew up in the city

also : to become an adult

She wants to be a doctor when she grows up.

b

: to stop thinking or behaving in a childish way

He should grow up and accept his responsibilities.

2

: to begin to exist and develop as time passes

A number of cities grew up along the river.

Synonyms

• age
• develop
• grow
• mature
• progress
• ripen

Examples of grow up in a Sentence

everyone has to grow up at some point in their lives

Recent Examples on the Web

The brothers grew up with a love for melodic ‘60s rock, which has been at the heart of their music. —Daniel Kohn, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2024

Bardella grew up as an only child in social housing in Seine-Saint-Denis, a working-class suburb in Paris. —Christian Edwards, CNN, 27 June 2024

Gerrit Cole, who grew up near Angel Stadium, had a Garret Anderson jersey in his locker. —Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 26 June 2024

Instead, his performances in movies such as Nacho Libre, School of Rock, and High Fidelity demonstrate the comfortable charisma of a class clown who survived maturity and grew up to be the life of the party. —Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 12 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1535, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

grow up

verb

: to grow toward or reach full mental and physical growth