grow up

grow up phrasal verb (see also ↑grow)
1. to develop from being a child to being an adult:
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I grew up in Chicago.
2. grow up! spoken used to tell someone to behave in a more responsible way, like an adult
3. to start to exist or develop gradually:
Trading settlements grew up by the river.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

grow up

ˌgrow ˈup derived

1. (of a person) to develop into an adult

• She grew up in Boston (= lived there as a child).

• Their children have all grown up and left home now.

• ~ to do sth He grew up to become a famous pianist.

related noun grown-up2

2. used to tell sb to stop behaving in a silly way

• Why don't you grow up?

• It's time you grew up.

3. to develop gradually

• A closeness grew up between the two girls.

Main entry: growderived

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

grow up (PERSON) — phrasal verb with grow / ɡrəʊ / / ɡroʊ / verb ( grew , grown )

A2 to gradually become an adult:

I grew up in Scotland (= I lived there when I was young) .

Taking responsibility for yourself is part of the process of growing up.

grow up (CITY) — phrasal verb with grow / ɡrəʊ / / ɡroʊ / verb ( grew , grown )

If a town or city grows up in a particular place or way, it develops there or in that way:

The city grew up originally as a crossing point on the river.

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

grow up

1) PHRASAL VERB When someone grows up, they gradually change from being a child into being an adult.
→ See also grown-up
  [V P] She grew up in Tokyo.
2) PHRASAL VERB: usu imper (disapproval) If you tell someone to grow up, you are telling them to stop behaving in a silly or childish way. [INFORMAL]
  [V P] It's time you grew up.
3) PHRASAL VERB If something grows up, it starts to exist and then becomes larger or more important.
  [V P] A variety of heavy industries grew up alongside the port.

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

grow

grow /ˈgroʊ/ verb grows; grew /ˈgruː/; grown /ˈgroʊn/; grow·ing
1 [no obj] : to become larger : to increase in size, amount, etc.
• The city is growing rapidly/dramatically.
• The list of chores to do this weekend keeps growing.
- often + in
• The sport is growing in popularity. [=is becoming more popular]
• The school has grown (considerably/greatly) in size.
• His followers continue to grow in number. [=to become more numerous]
2 [no obj] : to become better or improved in some way : to become more developed, mature, etc.
• She grew intellectually and emotionally in her first year at college.
• It's wonderful to see how she has grown as a person since going to college.
3 [no obj] : to become larger and change from being a child to being an adult as time passes : to pass from childhood to adulthood
• It can be hard to watch our children change as they grow.
• He's still just a growing boy.
• She's grown (by) at least an inch since the last time I saw her.
4 a [no obj] of a plant : to exist and develop
• These trees grow only in the jungle.
• As the tree grew taller, the branches began to touch the house.
• This plant does well in difficult growing conditions. [=conditions in which it is difficult for most plants to grow]
• The flowers grow wild [=grow naturally without being planted or cared for by humans] along the highway.
b [+ obj] : to cause (a plant) to grow : to cultivate or raise (a plant)
• She grows tomatoes in her garden.
• The plant is grown for its colorful flowers.
5 of hair, fingernails, etc. : to become longer

[no obj]

• She's letting her hair grow a little.
• His fingernails grow quickly.

[+ obj]

• She's growing her hair long.
• He tried to grow a beard/mustache. [=to have a beard/mustache by letting the hair on his face grow]
- see also grow out 1 (below)
6 a always followed by an adjective [linking verb] : become
• He suddenly grew pale.
• He had grown tired of hearing about their problems.
• She grew fat due to her lack of exercise.
• He's worried about growing old.
• These diseases are growing more common.
• We have grown accustomed to his angry outbursts.
b [no obj] : to have or form an opinion, attitude, etc., after time passes - followed by to + verb
• She's grown to like her new job.
• I grew to admire her very much.
• I grew to feel that these problems were not important.
• She grew to hate him for his selfishness.
7 [+ obj] : to cause (something, such as a business) to develop or get bigger
• These changes should allow us to grow the company while reducing waste.
• He claims that his proposals will help grow the economy.
grow apart [phrasal verb] : to become less friendly or emotionally close as time passes : to become distant from someone
• My wife and I have grown apart over the years.
grow from [phrasal verb] grow from (something) : to come from or originate from (something)
• The company grew from an idea he had in college.
grow into [phrasal verb] grow into (something)
1 : to become (something) as time passes
• She has grown into an accomplished and charming young woman.
• His small company has grown into a huge international corporation.
2 : to become large enough for (a certain size of clothing)
• Ben will grow into Billy's shoes in a year or two.
grow on [phrasal verb] grow on (someone) : to become more appealing to (someone) as time passes
• Try the dish again—it grows on you.
• I didn't like him at first, but he's starting to grow on me.
grow on trees informal : to exist in large amounts : to be easy to get
• Good jobs don't grow on trees. [=good jobs are hard to get]
• He acts as if money grows on trees.
grow out [phrasal verb]
1 grow (something) out or grow out (something) : to allow (something) to get longer
• She's growing out her hair.
- see also grow 5 (above)
2 grow out of (something)
a : to develop or come from (a source)
• The project grew out of a simple suggestion.
• This new theory grew out of their earlier research.
b : to become too large for (a certain size of clothing)
• He quickly grew out of his clothes.
- see also outgrow
c : to stop doing or having (something) because you are older and more mature
• She hoped to grow out of her bad habits.
• He's wild now, but he'll grow out of it.
grow up [phrasal verb]
1 a : to become an adult
• She wants to be a firefighter when she grows up.
- used to describe where you lived, what you did, etc., when you were a child
• I grew up in the city.
• We grew up poor, but we always had food on the table.
• He grew up playing music. [=he played music when he was a child]
b : to stop thinking and behaving in a childish way
• It's time for him to grow up and start accepting his responsibilities.
• Oh, grow up!
- see also grown-up
2 : to begin to exist and develop as time passes
• A number of villages and cities grew up along the river.
• A rivalry grew up between the villages.
- grow·er /ˈgrowɚ/ noun, pl -ers [count]
• corn/fruit growers
• This plant is known as a fast grower.
- growing adj always used before a noun
• There is growing acceptance of the new plan.
• the growing popularity of this film
• There's a growing sense that he may be right.