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

Thiaw grew up as a defensive midfielder who was fascinated with Yaya Toure, only transitioning to centre-back at 17, and that ball-playing background was clearly evident against Everton. —Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025

Thieriot grew up in Northern California, where Fire Country is set, and his own life experiences inspired the series. —Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 30 Nov. 2025

There's a reason kids grow up here, leave, go to some other place and then want to come back home. —Leyla Shokoohe, Cincinnati Enquirer, 30 Nov. 2025

As a child, English was her third language as her mother is from Chile and her father grew up in Iran. —Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Nov. 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