grown-up

American  

[grohn-uhp] / ˈgroʊnˈʌp /

adjective

1. having reached the age of maturity.

2. characteristic of or suitable for adults.

   grown-up behavior; grown-up fiction.

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grown-up British  

adjective

1. having reached maturity; adult

2. suitable for or characteristic of an adult

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noun

1. an adult

Other Word Forms

• grown-upness noun

Etymology

Origin of grown-up

First recorded in 1625–35; adj. use of verb phrase grow up

Example Sentences

In his 1908 book, “Orthodoxy,” Chesterton wrote: “Grown-up people aren’t strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony.”

From The Wall Street Journal

This year will add another to the tally - with his two grown-up sons, who are also rail workers, out there with him.

From BBC

So I set out to create it: a blueberry muffin with a seasonally appropriate soul — deeper, darker, more fragrant, a little more grown-up.

From Salon

Her grown-up children, who she hadn't seen in two years, were in Oslo to greet her.

From BBC

It manages its own mass well due to a very grown-up chassis—a double-wishbone design in front and rear multi-links—and what the company calls “Kinematic Posture Control,” an anti-roll system that keeps the CX-90 surprisingly level in corners and turns.

From The Wall Street Journal