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

In Conversation Sarah Wang on growing up in an immigrant household and writing a book her mother will never read. —Literary Hub, 1 June 2026

Meanwhile, their friends are also navigating the ups and downs of love and friendship, confronting the bittersweet challenges of growing up and moving on. —Rich Heldenfels, Boston Herald, 31 May 2026

The answer is that The Boroughs isn’t for kids at all, but for seniors who never grew up. —Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 31 May 2026

Well, one of my favorite movies growing up as a kid was Pinocchio, and that's on the darker side, and Matilda for sure. —Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 31 May 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