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

• grow
• progress
• develop

Examples of grow up in a Sentence

everyone has to grow up at some point in their lives

Recent Examples on the Web

But Gen Z grew up in a world that glitched and rebooted. —Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 29 June 2025

Born on June 9, 1951, in Grenada, Miss., Parker grew up in Cincinnati and was a three-sport star at Courter Tech High School. —John Perrotto, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 June 2025

Born on June 9, 1951 in Grenada, Miss., Parker grew up in Cincinnati and was a three-sport star at Courter Tech High. —Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2025

Vega Baja This northern city is where Bad Bunny grew up, about 40 minutes from San Juan. —Eve Chen, USA Today, 28 June 2025

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