grow
verb (used without object)
to increase by natural development, as any living organism or part by assimilation of nutriment; increase in size or substance.
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grow
1 American
[groh]
/ groʊ /
verb (used without object)
-
grows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
grew,
past
-
grown,
past participle
-
growing
present participle
-
to increase by natural development, as any living organism or part by assimilation of nutriment; increase in size or substance.
- Antonyms:
- decrease
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to form and increase in size by a process of inorganic accretion, as by crystallization.
-
to arise or issue as a natural development from an original happening, circumstance, or source.
Our friendship grew from common interests.
- Synonyms:
- originate
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to increase gradually in size, amount, etc.; become greater or larger; expand.
His influence has grown.
- Synonyms:
- wax
- Antonyms:
- wane
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to become gradually attached or united by or as if by growth.
The branches of the trees grew together, forming a natural arch.
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to come to be by degrees; become.
to grow old.
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Nautical. to lie or extend in a certain direction, as an anchor cable.
verb (used with object)
-
grows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
grew,
past
-
grown,
past participle
-
growing
present participle
verb phrase
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grow on / upon
-
to increase in influence or effect.
An uneasy feeling grew upon him as he went through the old house.
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to become gradually more liked or accepted by.
a village by the sea that grows on one.
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-
grow out of
-
to become too large or mature for; outgrow.
He has grown out of all his clothes.
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to originate in; develop from.
The plan grew out of a casual conversation.
-
-
grow up
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to be or become fully grown; attain mental or physical maturity.
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to come into existence; arise.
New cities grew up in the desert.
-
-
grow into
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to become large enough for.
He'll grow into his brother's suits before long.
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to become mature or experienced enough for.
She grew into the job, although she wasn't qualified for it at first.
-
idioms
Grow
2
American
[groh]
/ groʊ /
noun
grow
British
/ ɡrəʊ /
verb
-
(of an organism or part of an organism) to increase in size or develop (hair, leaves, or other structures)
-
(intr; usually foll by out of or from) to originate, as from an initial cause or source
the federation grew out of the Empire
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(intr) to increase in size, number, degree, etc
the population is growing rapidly
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(intr) to change in length or amount in a specified direction
some plants grow downwards
profits over the years grew downwards
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(copula; may take an infinitive) (esp of emotions, physical states, etc) to develop or come into existence or being gradually
to grow cold
to grow morose
he grew to like her
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to come into existence
a close friendship grew up between them
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to be joined gradually by or as by growth
the branches on the tree grew together
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(intr; foll by away, together, etc) to develop a specified state of friendship
the lovers grew together gradually
many friends grow apart over the years
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to become covered with a growth
the path grew with weeds
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to produce (plants) by controlling or encouraging their growth, esp for home consumption or on a commercial basis
grow
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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growsimple
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growssimple
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have grownperfect
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has grownperfect
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am growingprogressive
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are growingprogressive
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is growingprogressive
-
have been growingperfect progressive
-
has been growingperfect progressive
Past
-
grewsimple
-
had grownperfect
-
was growingprogressive
-
were growingprogressive
-
had been growingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grow
First recorded before 900; Middle English growen, Old English grōwan; cognate with Dutch groeien, Old High German grouwan, Old Norse grōa
Explanation
To grow is to become larger, stronger, or more mature. A tiny seed grows into a leafy plant or a giant tree; babies grow and become adults and as they do, their knowledge of the world grows too! The verb grow describes something becoming greater than it once was. Living things start small and grow into adults, like kittens growing into cats and cubs growing into bears. But growing isn't limited to physical changes: Someone's knowledge can grow over time, and people can grow emotionally, becoming more positive, confident, and caring. When anything, living or not, becomes more, it grows — like the intensity of sunlight growing after dawn or a small business growing into a huge global success.
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.
See Examples For:
Researchers used those samples to grow organoids, lab-grown tissues derived from patients, allowing them to investigate the disease directly in human cells.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
Bilal said faith in politics, government and corporations is not high among his peers, but he’s trying to grow a network of young people to cultivate and support future leaders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Data centers are drawing intense scrutiny as Americans grow increasingly leery of AI and the technology’s potential risks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
The owner says she wants future generations of female players to enjoy opportunities equal to those available to boys, regardless of where they grow up.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Danny felt his feet grow heavy, as if he were sinking into cement.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
The Grow Group Inc. chlorine cloud was one of the incidents that prompted L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Campaigners have called on City Hall to introduce a London-wide "Right to Grow" framework to help communities turn unused public land into food gardens.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
In 1858, Rep. Galusha Grow of Pennsylvania knocked down Brooks’s friend Laurence Keitt of South Carolina, prompting a melee that drew in some 30 members of the House.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
Excluding contributions from ironSource and Supersonic, revenue within Unity’s Grow unit rose 48% last quarter, “double the growth rate of the comparable metric inclusive of the two units.”
From Barron's ● Mar. 27, 2026
Grow up in Detroit and you understand the way of all things.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Everyone grows older at the same rate chronologically, but biological aging does not necessarily follow the same schedule.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 16, 2026
At its nursery in Yunnan, the company grows millions of plants under LED lights, which are then distributed to its growers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
The embryo grows until it causes the organ to rupture, triggering catastrophic bleeding.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
He expects agent-to-agent activity to increase as consumer adoption of AI grows.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
He looks me over, and his suspicion grows.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
The chef grew up in the Bronx, rural Nigeria and Louisiana.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Recently, driving through the city of Frostproof, where he grew up, Rucks pointed toward the railroad tracks, once lined with citrus packing houses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
If they grew larger, the system moved toward instability.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
Both Hanna and Ibrahim say they are forever grateful to the friends and family who offered them care and supported them as they grew up without their parents, despite the risks.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
The tortoise’s sleepy gaze was fixed ahead, and while there was no change in his dull expression, Clare did not think he imagined that the shell-dweller grew irritated.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
"Using mini-intestinal organoids grown in a dish and by working alongside a diverse team of researchers and clinicians, we uncovered the inflammatory signals responsible for this cell death response."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
And she isn't on her own, with one coach saying the number of people interested in the sport has "grown exponentially" in recent years.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Since 2022, the year OpenAI released ChatGPT, Cisco’s annual revenue has grown roughly 23%, to $63.3 billion in 2026.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
Qin Gang, China’s former foreign minister, once told Wilder that Xi “loved to drink,” and that the two had grown close on long flights over moutai, the fiery grain liquor prized by China’s elite.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
My arms and legs had grown skinnier, wirier than ever before, but my stomach was rounding out and bloating, like Baby Joe’s and some of the other boys’.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
But as the decades passed, the growing mismatch between the calendar and the seasons would have become increasingly difficult to ignore.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
“The Angels were my team growing up, so the Angels was my dream job,” said Araujo, a former season-ticket holder.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
In addition to highlighting the growing diversification of China’s launch industry, some of the missions carried notable payloads.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 20, 2026
When employees raised concerns, CEO Shayne Coplan told them to keep growing and pay a fine if regulators found out, according to people familiar with the events.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
They don't realize that floating in the air on dust particles, lurking on fingertips, or growing on the shiny steel blades of their unwashed surgical scalpels are single-celled bacteria and other microscopic life forms.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
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.
