outgrow

verb

out·​grow ˌau̇t-ˈgrō 

outgrew ˌau̇t-ˈgrü  ; outgrown 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

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

Aggressive plants can outcompete other plants for resources and outgrow the space allotted to them. — Dr. Lauren Kurtz, Hartford Courant, 16 Aug. 2026

Proponents of the change say that City Hall has outgrown its current building, which is in need of extensive repairs and modernization; One estimate puts the repair bill over $1 billion. — Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026

Martinez said the move was prompted by outgrowing the current space and parking complications from a neighboring business’s renovations, with a goal of staying close to both uptown and regular customers. — Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 6 Aug. 2026

Maintaining two parallel education systems for functionally equivalent degrees has outgrown its rationale. — Abigail MacKenzie, STAT, 5 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for outgrow

• acknow
• aglow
• ago
• airglow
• aloe
• altho
• although
• ammo
• backflow
• backhoe
• banjo
• barbeau

Kids Definition

outgrow

verb

out·​grow (ˈ)au̇t-ˈgrō 

outgrew -ˈgrü  ; outgrown -ˈgrōn  ; outgrowing

1

: to grow faster than

2

: to grow too large or too mature for

outgrew their clothes

outgrow playing with dolls