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

Such are the concerns of 13-year-old Chris (Izaac Wang) in this humorous yet heartfelt coming-of-age story based loosely on writer-director Sean Wang's own growing up. —Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Feb. 2026

The elder Mundy learned to build ice boats as a teenager, growing up in Broad Channel, a small working-class neighborhood where ice boating was a longstanding community hobby. —Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 7 Feb. 2026

Instead, Jones was surrounded by a family of medical professionals while growing up in the Kansas City area. —Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 7 Feb. 2026

Bianco, who is often seen sporting a cowboy hat, grew up in a small mining town in Utah, moving to Southern California in 1989. —Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 7 Feb. 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