outgrow

verb out·grow \ ˌau̇t-ˈgrō \

|Updated on: 16 Jul 2018

Examples: outgrow in a Sentence

Definition of outgrow

outgrew play \ˌau̇t-ˈgrü\; outgrown play \ˌau̇t-ˈgrōn\; outgrowing

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

See outgrow defined for English-language learners

See outgrow defined for kids

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 of outgrow from the Web

See ya later alligator Mighty Mike has outgrown the Queen City.

— sallee ann ruibal, Cincinnati.com, "3 headlines you may have missed: Bengals beekeeper, Mighty Mike's departure and best wine lists," 9 July 2018
That’s a lot for a toy that’ll be outgrown in a couple of years, despite every part of me wanting to watch Bram ride around in it.

— andrew liptak, The Verge, "I couldn’t test-drive Radio Flyer’s Star Wars landspeeder, but my 5-year-old did," 6 July 2018
The renovations are expected to be completed by the end of December and will provide more space for the nonprofit, which has outgrown its current space.

— diana dombrowski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "An inside look at the Walker's Point community arts center renovation," 2 July 2018
In most cases, teeth grinding is something that your child will outgrow, probably without the need for treatment.

— mary caldwell, ajc, "Is your child's teeth grinding normal?," 30 June 2018
The second group is children who don't outgrow the disorder and are still symptomatic but lose enough characteristics that they can't be officially diagnosed.

— michelle watson, CNN, "Millions of kids on ADHD meds decide their treatment as adults," 6 June 2018
Cooley said the regional council outgrew its former location on Union Street in Hobart, where it was located since 1978.

— karen caffarini, Post-Tribune, "Carpenters open new training facility in Merrillville," 16 May 2018
That’s something that a good leader never outgrows.

— clifton leaf, Fortune, "One Secret to Great Leaders: They Never Let Imagination Die," 19 Apr. 2018
Metro Atlanta, which has repeatedly outgrown other large American metro areas in recent years, is on pace to overtake Philadelphia as the United States’ eighth-largest by 2022, according to U.S. Census data.

— alex soderstrom, ajc, "Atlanta metro population on pace to pass Philadelphia as 8th largest," 23 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.

First Known Use of outgrow

1597

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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OUTGROW Defined for English Language Learners

outgrow

verb

Definition of outgrow for English Language Learners

: to grow too large for (someone or something)
: to stop doing (something) because you are older and more mature
: to stop being interested in or involved with (something or someone) because you have changed as you have grown older