grow up
Britishverb
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to reach maturity; become adult
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to come into existence; develop
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Become an adult, as in Sam wants to be a policeman when he grows up . [First half of 1500s]
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Come into existence, arise, as in Similar social problems grew up in all the big cities . [Late 1500s]
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Become mature or sensible, as in It's time you grew up and faced the facts . This usage may also be in the form of an imperative (as in Don't bite your nails—grow up! ) [Mid-1900s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Storrie discussed growing up in Texas, working as a waiter before he was cast in the series, and how little time he had to prepare to play a Russian hockey player for the show.
From Los Angeles Times
Horning said he grew up in a strict Seventh-day Adventist household in Northern California, forbidden from reading anything other than the Bible and approved nonfiction.
His official biography says he grew up poor in a small house with “one room and a gloomy basement.”
But anyone who grew up with the chicest member of the Muppets’ ensemble cast, whether on their TVs or in their dreams, understands she’s an eternal headliner.
From Salon
Talk to me about your family dynamic and what it was like growing up and also... it feels like they've really been on the journey with you...
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
