grow up

Formsgrows up, growing up, grew up, grown up

1. 1
   become an adultphrasal verbintransitive

   To mature from a child into an adult.

   He grew up speaking both Spanish and English at home.

   Parents always say their kids grow up too fast.

   Similarmature

   Note

   The phrase comes from Middle English upgrowen, where the particle stood in front. It takes no object, so nothing ever comes between grow and up, but it readily takes a description of who someone was while young: grew up a nomad, grew up poor, grew up speaking two languages. The place usually follows with in: she grew up in Evesham.

2. 2
   become sensiblephrasal verbidiomaticintransitive

   To stop behaving like a child, often said as a command.

   It's time the two owners grew up and stopped feuding in public.

   Will you both grow up and quit fighting over the remote?

   Similarmature

3. 3
   said to criticizeinterjectionimperative

   Said to criticize someone's childish behavior, especially behavior thought unreasonable for their age.

   You're still angry about a board game from last week? Grow up.

   Grow up, Kevin, you can't keep blaming your parents for everything at forty.

   Note

   A blunt retort rather than a request: it stands alone or opens a reply, aimed at someone old enough to know better. Because it brushes aside the other person's point along with their behavior, it lands as a put-down in any argument, and it is wiser to keep it out of disagreements one hopes to win politely.

4. 4
   developphrasal verbintransitive

   To come into existence and develop, often to the point of flourishing.

   A lively café culture grew up in the neighborhood after the university opened.

   New industries tend to grow up wherever cheap power is available.

   Similardevelop, emerge, arise

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