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 McLean grew up doing theater and names being on a Broadway stage as a dream of his. Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 22 May 2024 Thompson described her stepson as a happy and loving young man who grew up playing football and dreamed of one day building and flipping houses. Chris Looft, ABC News, 22 May 2024 Madrigal Mendoza, 17, grew up in Coalcomán de Vázquez Pallares, a town of roughly 11,000 people in the Mexican state of Michoacán. Mathew Miranda, Sacramento Bee, 22 May 2024 Laura grew up in Saratoga and is graduate of West Point. Debby Rice, The Mercury News, 21 May 2024 The actor, who grew up religious, decided to turn to religion again after putting his faith aside in Hollywood. Tatiana Tenreyro, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 May 2024 Tang grew up alongside democracy and digital technologies in Taiwan. Will Henshall, TIME, 20 May 2024 Posey grew up on the reservation in a house without running water and was the youngest of 13 siblings born to a Shoshone and Arapaho father and a Cheyenne mother. Cy Neff, USA TODAY, 20 May 2024 The Louisville native grew up in the Smoketown neighborhood and got his first job at the age of 15 at a local location of The Old Spaghetti Factory. Amanda Hancock, The Courier-Journal, 10 May 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 25 May. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!