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

“This is a grown-up record,” says George, who shares three teenage children with her husband, the movie director Jake Kasdan.

From Los Angeles Times

Suddenly, I wasn’t a grown-up woman living in Hollywood.

From Los Angeles Times

But for the admissions essay, the dry and uninspired robot voice turns one teenager after the next into only the archetype of a teenager, writing like a grown-up.

From Slate

And so while the rest of us played tag or bowl-the-hoop or had skate races down frozen canals in winter, Betsie sat and did dull grown-up things like embroidery.

From Literature

“Grown-up relationships can be very complicated. Not even adults understand them sometimes.”

From Literature