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.

Examples of grow up in a Sentence

everyone has to grow up at some point in their lives
Recent Examples on the Web The untitled coming-of-age project is said to be inspired by Williams’ formative years growing up in Virginia Beach in the 1970s. Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Mar. 2024 Miranda had grown up with one and dearly loved him. David Frum, The Atlantic, 21 Mar. 2024 Green’s passion and esteem for other cultures comes from growing up in Brooklyn, New York. Yvonne McBride, Essence, 21 Mar. 2024 In a wide-ranging interview, the former child actress — who's been candid about her ups and downs growing up in Hollywood — tells PEOPLE exclusively that she’s made peace with her past. Alex Ross, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024 People who grew up in a small town, everyone knows each other. Hazlitt, 20 Mar. 2024 Along the way, Mary Michael grew up, graduated from college and became a teacher in Dallas. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 20 Mar. 2024 This project is putting them back in Cincinnati women in the arts Alice and Phoebe Cary: The sister poets grew up on Clovernook Farm in North College Hill. Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, 10 Mar. 2024 Over those years, Edwin Lard grew up to be a Navy medical corpsman and then a paramedic. Olivia Diaz, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grow up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1535, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of grow up was in 1535

Dictionary Entries Near grow up

Cite this Entry

“Grow up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grow%20up. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

grow up

verb
: to grow toward or reach full mental and physical growth

More from Merriam-Webster on grow up

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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