grow up
verb
grew up; grown up; growing up; grows up
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.
Examples of grow up in a Sentence
everyone has to grow up at some point in their lives
Recent Examples on the Web
Some have resided there in the past, others grew up in New Jersey and many have business all over the state.
—
Lucas Frau, USA TODAY, 18 Feb. 2025
Harrison grew up not far from the city where Nike is headquartered, Beaverton, Ore., and had gone on to play pro hoops, bouncing around leagues in Belgium, Japan and the U.S. Greene was then the global marketing director for basketball at Nike, the most powerful company in athletics.
—C. Clark, M. Vorkunov and F. Katz, The Athletic, 17 Feb. 2025
Since her rhinoplasty in November, Devyn Aiken, 30, has documented her recovery for an audience of over 61,000 social media followers
Comments
Devyn Aiken grew up feeling insecure about her nose, noting she was bullied a lot growing up.
—Zoey Lyttle, People.com, 17 Feb. 2025
Some babies treated with it grew up able to run and play.
—Robin Fields, CNN, 17 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for grow up 
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Lucas Frau, USA TODAY, 18 Feb. 2025
Harrison grew up not far from the city where Nike is headquartered, Beaverton, Ore., and had gone on to play pro hoops, bouncing around leagues in Belgium, Japan and the U.S. Greene was then the global marketing director for basketball at Nike, the most powerful company in athletics.
—C. Clark, M. Vorkunov and F. Katz, The Athletic, 17 Feb. 2025
Since her rhinoplasty in November, Devyn Aiken, 30, has documented her recovery for an audience of over 61,000 social media followers
Comments
Devyn Aiken grew up feeling insecure about her nose, noting she was bullied a lot growing up.
—Zoey Lyttle, People.com, 17 Feb. 2025
Some babies treated with it grew up able to run and play.
—Robin Fields, CNN, 17 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for grow up
Dictionary Entries Near grow up
Cite this Entry
“Grow up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grow%20up. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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