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Synonyms

grow up

British  

verb

  1. to reach maturity; become adult

  2. to come into existence; develop

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
grow up Idioms  

  1. Become an adult, as in Sam wants to be a policeman when he grows up . [First half of 1500s]

  2. Come into existence, arise, as in Similar social problems grew up in all the big cities . [Late 1500s]

  3. 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.

The San Diego Humane Society is doing everything it can to mimic how the bears would grow up in the wild.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

Time to move out and grow up, we thought, or at least channel more time into bleary-eyed Football Manager saves.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

“When you grow up enmeshed, it’s like I had to go that extreme of the estrangement to hear myself,” says Konkle.

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026

“What does it mean to grow up? They’re looking for guidance.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026

"I think we should all be dancers when we grow up!"

From "The Cinderella Ballet Mystery: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #4" by Carolyn Keene

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.