outgrow

verb

out·grow | \ ˌau̇t-ˈgrō

outgrew\ ˌau̇t-ˈgrü

\; outgrown\ ˌau̇t-ˈgrōn

\; outgrowing

Definition of outgrow

transitive verb

1 : to grow or increase faster than mankind is outgrowing food supplies— R. C. Murphy

2 : to grow too large or too mature for outgrew his best suit the need to outgrow the habit of war— Norman Cousins

Examples of outgrow in a Sentence

Kids outgrow their clothes so quickly. The plant has outgrown my garden. Our business is outgrowing its small office building. She's outgrown most of her toys. I realized that I had outgrown my old high school friends.

Recent Examples on the Web

Local brands continue to outgrow multinational corporations in the food and beverage sector, according to Goldman Sachs. — Tripp Mickle, WSJ, "Apple Makes Rare Cut to Sales Guidance," 2 Jan. 2019 This is the smallest bike Honda makes, but that doesn't mean your kid would outgrow it right away. — Ezra Dyer, Popular Mechanics, "Why the Honda CRF50F Is the Quintessential Starter Dirt Bike," 28 Nov. 2018 Plenty of bands try to outgrow pop-punk; few manage to replace its kinetic catharsis. — Chris Payne, Billboard, "5 Seconds of Summer Want You Back: 'Our Purpose Is Very Different Than Other Bands'," 23 June 2018 As the plants outgrow their plastic covers, remove them. — Jean Nick, Good Housekeeping, "How to Grow Your Own Turmeric Indoors," 22 July 2018 In general, Ellison is a writer whose readership leans heavily on people who read him as a teen, and often outgrew him. — Jeet Heer, The New Republic, "Harlan Ellison’s Death Raises a #MeToo Quandary," 2 July 2018 After William and Harry outgrew it, the model Aston was put into the Museum at Sandringham on the queen's estate. — Sam Dangremond, Town & Country, "Prince George Is Getting a Very Cool New Toy," 12 Jan. 2016 Despite only being 18 years old, the centre back is beginning to outgrow the Eredivisie, and the allure of some of Europe's top teams is becoming too much to resist. — SI.com, "Juventus Reportedly Agree Personal Terms With Barcelona & Tottenham Target Matthijs De Ligt," 26 June 2018 And in the greenhouse, mint wants to outgrow its container. — Margaret Lauterbach, idahostatesman, "Growing and drying herbs in summer is a great way to benefit your culinary world," 8 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'outgrow.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.