grow

growverb

To grow is to become larger or develop over time, or to help something do that.

1. get biggerbecome bigger or taller over time, as living things do

   intransitive [I] verb + adverb or preposition [V + adv/prep]

   • Children grow so fast at this age.
   • The little tree has grown a lot since last spring.
   • He grew three inches in one year. (with a measurement)

   Collocations

   verb + adverb grow fast, grow quickly

2. increasebecome larger in size, number, or strength

   intransitive [I] verb + adverb or preposition [V + adv/prep]

   • The number of students is growing every year.
   • Her small business grew quickly.
   • The town has grown into a busy city. V + adv/prep
   • Our team has grown from five people to twenty. V + adv/prep

   Collocations

   noun + verb the population grows, a business grows, demand grows, fears grow

   verb + adverb grow quickly, grow steadily, grow rapidly

   verb + preposition grow into something, grow by ten percent

   Synonyms increase; expand

   Antonyms decrease; shrink

3. plantsput seeds or young plants in the ground and look after them until they are ready

   transitive [T] verb + object [V + obj]

   • We grow our own vegetables in the backyard. V + obj
   • Farmers in the valley grow rice and beans. V + obj
   • The tomatoes were grown without chemicals. V + obj (passive)

   Collocations

   verb + noun grow vegetables, grow fruit, grow crops, grow flowers, grow rice

   1. alive and develop in a place

      Used with a plant as the subject.

      intransitive [I] verb + adverb or preposition [V + adv/prep]

      • Oranges grow well in a warm climate. V + adv/prep
      • Nothing will grow in this dry soil. V + adv/prep

      Collocations

      verb + adverb grow well, grow wild

   For translators (sense 3)

   Meaning across languages English uses grow both for a plant developing and for a person producing plants. It is not used for bringing up children: use raise or bring up.

4. hairlet the hair on your head or face get longer

   transitive [T] verb + object [V + obj] verb + object + adjective [V + obj + adj]

   • He's growing a beard. V + obj
   • I've decided to grow my hair long. V + obj + adj

   Collocations

   verb + noun grow a beard, grow your hair, grow a mustache

5. becomeslowly change and start to be something

   Grow before an adjective means about the same as become or get, but it shows that the change is slow. Get is more usual in everyday speech.

   linking [L] verb + adjective [V + adj] verb + to-infinitive [V + to-inf]

   • It was growing dark, so we went inside. V + adj
   • She grew tired of waiting and went home. V + adj
   • The children grew quiet when the story began. V + adj

   Collocations

   phrase grow tall, grow old, grow tired, grow dark, grow cold, grow weaker

   Synonyms become; get; develop

   1. aslowly start to have a feeling about someone or something

      intransitive [I] verb + to-infinitive [V + to-inf]

      • At first I didn't like the city, but I grew to love it. V + to-inf
      • Over the years they grew to trust each other. V + to-inf

      Collocations

      phrase grow to love, grow to like, grow to trust

See also grow up; raise