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

As a child, Ashley grew up in a Habitat home in Fayetteville, giving her first-hand experience of the stability that home ownership can bring to hard working families. —Deb Harvell, arkansasonline.com, 27 Oct. 2024

Jones grew up in the small, rural community of Dublin in the western part of Michigan, about a two-hour drive north of Grand Rapids. —Lorena Chambers / Made By History, TIME, 26 Oct. 2024

Carlo is following in his famous big sister’s footsteps as an actor in Hollywood Comments Eva Mendes grew up with three siblings — her sister Janet and brothers Carlos and Carlo — in a family who deeply values and celebrates their Cuban roots. —Emily Weaver, People.com, 26 Oct. 2024

Mabu grew up on Manhattan’s Gold Coast, but raps NYC drill tunes about drive-bys. —Heshel Rolnick, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 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