Grow up meaning
Grow up means to change from a child into an adult, or spend your childhood somewhere. It can also mean to start to behave like a sensible adult.
grow up
grow up · grew · grown · growing
I grew up in a small town by the sea.
Grow up meanings and examples
2 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Change from a child into an adult, or spend your childhood somewhere
grow up
- I grew up in a small town by the sea.
- What do you want to be when you grow up?
- Kids grow up so fast these days.
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2
Start to behave like a sensible adult
grow up
- Oh, grow up! You’re thirty, not five.
- He really grew up after his first job.
- When is she going to grow up and pay her own bills?
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use grow up in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is grow up separable?
Grow up has no object. You grow up, or grow up somewhere: She grew up in Lagos. You cannot grow up a child; parents bring up or raise children.
The adjective is grown-up (a grown-up son) and the noun is a grown-up, which children use for an adult. Grow alone is for size: He grew ten centimetres.
Verb tenses for grow up
| Present | I grow up · she grows up |
|---|---|
| Past | grew up |
| Present perfect | have grown up |
| -ing form | growing up |
Common mistakes with grow up
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: My grandparents grew up me.
Right: My grandparents brought me up.
Grow up has no object; use bring up or raise.
Wrong: I was grown up in Seoul.
Right: I grew up in Seoul.
Grow up is not passive.
Wrong: When I will grow up, I want to be a vet.
Right: When I grow up, I want to be a vet.
After when, use the present for the future.
Synonyms and opposites of grow up
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- bring upwhat parents do: care for a child until adult
- be raisedthe same as grow up in a place, more common in US English
- maturebecome more adult in the way you think
Opposite
- act like a childbehave in a silly, immature way
- regressgo back to an earlier, less mature stage
Grow up quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1She ___ on a farm, so she loves animals.
Grow up somewhere means spend your childhood there.
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2Choose the right sentence.
Grow up has no object and is not passive.
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3“Stop throwing food and grow up!” What does the speaker want?
Grow up! tells someone to stop acting like a child.
Find your level
The phrasal verbs test adapts as you answer, from A2 to C1, and shows which ones you miss.
- get upA1get out of bed after you sleep
- take upB1start a new hobby or activity
- put upB1fix something to a wall, or raise something higher
- look upA2find information in a dictionary, a book or online
- go upB1become higher, like a price, a number or a temperature
- come upB2be mentioned or talked about
- give upB1stop doing or having something, often a habit
- break upB1end a romantic relationship
Grow up FAQ
Questions people ask about grow up.
What is the difference between grow up and bring up?
Children grow up. Parents bring up children. So: I grew up in Lima, and my mum brought me up there.
What does grown-up mean?
Grown-up means adult. As a noun it is what kids call adults: Ask a grown-up to help.
Is grow up rude?
As an order, Grow up! is rude and tells someone they are childish. In I grew up in Rome, it is completely neutral.
Use grow up in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.