outgrow

[ out-groh ]

/ ˌaʊtˈgroʊ /

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verb (used with object), out·grew, out·grown, out·grow·ing.

to grow too large for: to outgrow one's clothes.

to leave behind or lose in the changes incident to development or the passage of time: She outgrew her fear of the dark.

to surpass in growing: watching one child outgrow another.

verb (used without object), out·grew, out·grown, out·grow·ing.

Archaic. to grow out; burst forth; protrude.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of outgrow

First recorded in 1585–95; out- + grow

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use outgrow in a sentence

Knowledge work has outgrown a physical setting where everyone spends the workday together.
Work has outgrown the office. What’s next?|Jake Meth|January 12, 2021|Fortune
Having outgrown its old headquarters, Chicago ad agency SRW was over the moon about moving into its brand new space last March — having no idea the world was about to be turned upside down by the pandemic.
Welcome to the ground floor: street-level offices for a post-pandemic world|Jessica Davies|January 11, 2021|Digiday
Summer female flocks include male as well as female poults, but by summer’s end and autumn, as the young males outgrow their mothers, most of them gravitate to boys' clubs.
Three love stories about birds that will delight your heart|Laura Erickson|November 6, 2020|Popular-Science
While it’s often seen as a childhood problem, only 1 in 5 outgrow allergies.
An End to Peanut Allergies Is Close|Nick Fouriezos|November 2, 2020|Ozy

It comes with a pair of three-pound dumbbells for the off-bike exercises, which you also may want to replace with something more substantial once you’ve outgrown the light weights.
NordicTrack’s connected workout bike puts the focus on competing against yourself|Stan Horaczek|October 15, 2020|Popular-Science
Sources say that the actress, singer, and sometime Justin Bieber girlfriend had “outgrown” her parents.
Selena Gomez, Macaulay Culkin, and More Stars Who Divorce Their Parents|Marina Watts|April 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You may find s/he has outgrown old customs—something new you two can share.
Your Week: What the Stars Hold|Starsky + Cox|September 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
In such double-take times we clung—tightly—to the things, silly things, that we have outgrown.
Trends That Need to End in 2010|Natasha Vargas-Cooper|December 29, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Their demand was that the AAP stop treating intersexuality as a birth defect that can be corrected, outgrown, and forgotten.
Don't Call Them Hermaphrodites|Joseph Huff-Hannon|September 16, 2009|DAILY BEAST
It turns out in the wake of the Internet revolution, snark as a style has outgrown its original limited function.
The High Priests of Snark|David Denby|January 8, 2009|DAILY BEAST
This castle has been a complete ruin for over seventy years and the city has outgrown its walls and spread across the moat.
Silver Chimes in Syria|W. S. Nelson
"Thank you, I've outgrown that," replied Miss Martha briskly.
The Opened Shutters|Clara Louise Burnham
The Homeric age is one which had outgrown ancestor and hero worship, and had not, like the age of the Cyclics, relapsed into it.
Homer and His Age|Andrew Lang
The business had outgrown him and his limited means, had become unwieldy and unmanageable.
My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands|George Francis Train
To be sure I have learned a good deal since I was here last; I have outgrown a good many illusions.
Tony Butler|Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for outgrow

outgrow

/ (ˌaʊtˈɡrəʊ) /

verb -grows, -growing, -grew or -grown (tr)

to grow too large for (clothes, shoes, etc)

to lose (a habit, idea, reputation, etc) in the course of development or time

to grow larger or faster than

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