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 of grow up

• grow
• progress

Examples of grow up in a Sentence

everyone has to grow up at some point in their lives

Recent Examples on the Web

And what’s dramatic about this is that having grown up on a remote mountain farm in the 1940s, away from almost any remnant of civilization, Mikey has zero context for his erotic yearnings. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026

Robin Morgan, a wholesome child star of the 1940s and ‘50s who grew up to become an all-American radical as a poet, essayist, editor and second-wave feminist, has died. — Hillel Italie, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026

Serena and Venus Williams, for example, grew up in a middle-class family in Compton, California, before becoming two of the most successful and recognizable players in tennis history. — Preston Fore, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026

Taylor had grown up watching reruns of the sitcom on cable and even played Marcia in a stage show. — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1535, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for grow up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Kids Definition

grow up

verb

: to grow toward or reach full mental and physical growth