grow up

verb

"grow-up" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“grow up” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To mature and become an adult.

Corpus desk

Index EN-grow-up · grow up · English

grow up · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "G" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for grow up
PropertyValue
Headwordgrow up
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “grow up” in English

grow upranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

grow up is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for grow up in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Dissimilated from Middle English upgrowen. The correct English form is grow up, spelled G-R-O-W- -U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    To mature and become an adult.
  2. 2
    To start to develop; to flourish.
  3. 3
    To stop acting as or like a child (often used as an imperative interjection).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how grow up appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. What do you want to be when you grow up?
  2. Attila grew up a nomad on the plains of Hungary

Etymology

Dissimilated from Middle English upgrowen.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "grow up"?
"grow up" is spelled G-R-O-W- -U-P.
What does "grow up" mean?
As a verb, "grow up" means: To mature and become an adult.
What is the origin of the word "grow up"?
Dissimilated from Middle English upgrowen. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list