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

Lopes, the captain of Shamrock Rovers, who won a domestic double last season, qualified for Cape Verde through his father, Carlos, who grew up there. — Tom Burrows, New York Times, 12 July 2026

Born on July 24, 1929, Iwerks grew up in Southern California in a family where imagination and invention were woven into everyday life. — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 11 July 2026

Bobby Wilson was a pastor’s son who grew up idolizing the kind of R&B dudes who could wail a praise song and then hit up Freaknik afterwards (think Jodeci and H-Town). — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 11 July 2026

Lee, who grew up in Berkeley, California, says the Oakland firestorm of 1991 left a lasting impression on him. — Wendy Goodman, Curbed, 11 July 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