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

The mother of two would often caution her sons against making any friends at all, and growing up, Ed did not go on dates, per TIME. —Yasmeen Hamadeh, PEOPLE, 5 Oct. 2025

Brennan is known for his signature style of colorful windbreakers and comedy, focusing on growing up in the Midwest in a family of eight children with a doctor for a father, despite having no health insurance himself. —Jillian Sederholm, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Oct. 2025

Hersh would grow up to be very much Goldberg-Polin’s son. —Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025

Takaichi was born on March 3, 1961 and grew up in the ancient capital of Nara, a city known for the emergence of Buddhism in Japan. —Jessica Coacci, Fortune, 4 Oct. 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