Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,780,424,924 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

grow up

   Also found in: Acronyms, Idioms, Wikipedia 0.06 sec.
grow  (gr)
v. grew (gr), grown (grn), grow·ing, grows
v.intr.
1. To increase in size by a natural process.
2.
a. To expand; gain: The business grew under new owners.
b. To increase in amount or degree; intensify: The suspense grew.
3. To develop and reach maturity.
4. To be capable of growth; thrive: a plant that grows in shade.
5. To become attached by or as if by the process of growth: tree trunks that had grown together.
6. To come into existence from a source; spring up: love that grew from friendship.
7. To come to be by a gradual process or by degrees; become: grow angry; grow closer.
v.tr.
1. To cause to grow; raise: grow tulips.
2. To allow (something) to develop or increase by a natural process: grow a beard.
3. Usage Problem To cause to increase or expand by concerted effort: strategies that grew the family business.
Phrasal Verbs:
grow into
1. To develop so as to become: A boy grows into a man.
2. To develop or change so as to fit: She grew into her job. He grew into the relationship slowly.
grow on/upon
1. To become gradually more evident to: A feeling of distrust grew on me.
2. To become gradually more pleasurable or acceptable to: a taste that grows on a person.
grow up
To become an adult.
Idiom:
grow out of
To develop or come into existence from: an article that grew out of a few scribbled notes.

[Middle English growen, from Old English grwan; see ghr- in Indo-European roots.]

grower n.
growing·ly adv.
Usage Note: Grow has been used since medieval times as an intransitive verb, as in Our business has been growing steadily for 10 years. It has been used with an object since the 18th century, meaning "to produce or cultivate," as in We grow corn in our garden. But the transitive use applied to business and nonliving things is quite new. It came into full bloom during the 1992 presidential election, when nearly all the candidates were concerned with "growing the economy." The Usage Panel is decidedly less fond of this development than business leaders and politicans are. Eighty percent of the Panel rejects the phrase grow our business. The Panel is more accepting of, though not enthusiastic about, the phrase grow our way, perhaps because of way's established use in expressions like make our way and find our way: 48 percent accept We've got to grow our way out of this recession. The Panel has no affection for the odd but occasionally heard phrase grow down: 98 percent reject If elected, I shall do my utmost to grow down the deficit.

grow up
vb (intr, adverb)
1. to reach maturity; become adult
2. to come into existence; develop
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Verb1.grow up - become an adult
maturate, mature, grow - develop and reach maturity; undergo maturation; "He matured fast"; "The child grew fast"
come of age - reach a certain age that marks a transition to maturity
Translations
? grow up
vi (= spend childhood)aufwachsen; (= become adult)erwachsen werden; (fig, custom, hatred) → aufkommen; (city)entstehen; what are you going to do when you grow up?was willst du mal werden, wenn du groß bist?; she’s grown up into an attractive young woman/an alcoholicsie hat sich zu einer attraktiven jungen Frau/Alkoholikerin entwickelt; grow up!, when are you going to grow up?werde endlich erwachsen!

grow up ينضج dospět vokse op wachsen ωριμάζω criarse kasvaa isoksi grandir odrasti crescere 大人になる 성숙하다 opgroeien vokse opp dorosnąć crescer вырастать växa upp เจริญเติบโต büyümek trưởng thành 长大


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
What pleasure can I have in seeing a girl grow up to eclipse me, and enjoy those pleasures that I am for ever debarred from?
And thus the whole State will grow up in a noble order, and the several classes will receive the proportion of happiness which nature assigns to them.
A niece of ours, Sir Thomas, I may say, or at least ofyours, would not grow up in this neighbourhood without many advantages.
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a Terms of Use.