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

His Masters of Divinity degree hadn't involved much training in clinical mental health care, and the subject was not a part of his family life growing up in New York City. —Katia Riddle, NPR, 23 Mar. 2025

The brothers grew up and made their adult lives in San Francisco. —Graham Womack, Sacramento Bee, 23 Mar. 2025

Rather than try to remake a beloved classic shot-for-shot, as so many other titles on this list do, Christopher Robin actually tells an original story in conversation with the classic Winnie the Pooh stories that so many of us grew up with. —Staff Author, EW.com, 22 Mar. 2025

Maybe all those things tech can’t do will become less important to people who grow up in love with tech. —Jaron Lanier, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1535, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for grow up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Kids Definition

grow up

verb

: to grow toward or reach full mental and physical growth