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

• age
• develop
• grow
• mature
• progress
• ripen

Examples of grow up in a Sentence

everyone has to grow up at some point in their lives

Recent Examples on the Web

Hayes, who grew up in Largo, appeared in 11 games for UM as a freshman last season, playing eight snaps on defense and 145 on special teams. —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 12 May 2025

Cohen and Greenfield — who grew up attending Hebrew school together on Long Island — sold the company to Unilever decades ago and no longer control it, though recently Cohen was reportedly planning a buyback. —Ben Sales, Sun Sentinel, 12 May 2025

Watkins grew up in Devon, a county in the south-west of England far from London, as an Arsenal fan and conversations were had about a move to Mikel Arteta’s side. —Mark Carey, New York Times, 12 May 2025

Alexander is an Israeli-American soldier who grew up in New Jersey. —Wafaa Shurafa, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 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