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

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Etymology

Origin of grown-up

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grown-up

In retrospect, Robert Freeman’s autumnal, artfully distorted photograph was an entirely apt image for a worldlier, darker, more grown-up Beatles record.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Ms. Merkel, who served as chancellor from 2005 through 2021, was for years treated as the great grown-up of Western politics: steady, pragmatic, reassuringly unexcitable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

“I don’t feel like a grown-up yet, and now I pay a mortgage, and fix pipes and clean gutters.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

Compared to the 30-year-old I interviewed five years ago, Piker looked considerably more grown-up.

From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026

“Maybe we can find a grown-up bloodhound somewhere,” he said.

From "Mystery Map (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #3)" by Franklin W. Dixon

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