grow out of
Britishverb
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Develop or come into existence from. For example, This article grew out of a few scribbled notes , or Their mutual trust grew out of long acquaintance .
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Also, outgrow . Become too large or mature for, as in The baby's grown out of all her dresses , or He will outgrow these picture books in a few months .
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.
In practice, he argues, many innovations grow out of existing ones, often by borrowing or transplanting concepts from one field to another.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026
The recordings were just as funny and weird and interesting as I remembered them; they didn’t seem dated, they didn’t seem superfluous, they weren’t something I was going to grow out of.
From Salon • Dec. 23, 2025
"No country can tax or cut its way out of this crisis alone. Africa must grow out of debt, supported by a fairer global financial system," Chidoka told AFP.
From Barron's • Nov. 19, 2025
"It was a vicious circle. It was just complete turmoil... something that everyone just used to say she would grow out of or 'it's a phase' or 'she just needs to learn'," Holly added.
From BBC • Sep. 3, 2025
Why would something grow out of her footsteps?
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
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.
