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

Beetlejuice was one of my favorite movies ever growing up. —Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 14 June 2026

Brooklyn’s Berry Street Houses, the public housing complex where Alvarado grew up, should rename the place after him, at least for a day. —Sean Gregory, Time, 14 June 2026

The leading contenders are Jones, who grew up and used to represent part of Broward in the state House of Representatives and now lives in Miami Gardens, and Gilbert, who is a former Miami Gardens mayor. —Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 14 June 2026

For younger readers who have grown up entirely online, physical books are a rare tangible object disconnected from screens. —Josh Rivera, USA Today, 14 June 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