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

The children of this generation-consuming disaster grew up witnessing clear gains of Black people being undermined. —Marcus Thompson Ii, The Athletic, 25 Dec. 2024

Greg Moore: Favorite Christmas ornament growing up? —Joanna Allhands, The Arizona Republic, 24 Dec. 2024

The organization noted that Hediger grew up in Zurich-area Horgen but spent a lot of time in Arosa. —Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 24 Dec. 2024

Adversity was on the schedule every week for the South Los Angeles Legends, a soccer team of 11- and 12-year-old girls, many of whom were growing up in underserved communities. —Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1535, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

grow up

verb

: to grow toward or reach full mental and physical growth