Adjacent Words

Grow definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

GROW, v.i. pret. grew; pp. grown. [L. cresco.]
1. To enlarge in bulk or stature, by a natural, imperceptible addition of matter, through ducts and secreting organs, as animal and vegetable bodies; to vegetate as plants, or to be augmented by natural process, as animals. Thus, a plant grows from a seed to a shrub or tree, and a human being grows from a fetus to a man.
He causeth the grass to grow for cattle. Psalms 104.
2. To be produced by vegetation; as, wheat grows in most parts of the world; rice grows only in warm climates.
3. To increase; to be augmented; to wax; as, a body grows larger by inflation or distension; intemperance is a growing evil.
4. To advance; to improve; to make progress; as, to grow in grace, in knowledge, in piety. The young man is growing in reputation.
5. To advance; to extend. His reputation is growing.
6. To come by degrees; to become; to reach any state; as, he grows more skillful, or more prudent. Let not vice grow to a habit, or into a habit.
7. To come forward; to advance. [Not much used.]
Winter began to grow fast on.
8. To be changed from one state to another; to become; as, to grow pale; to grow poor; to grow rich.
9. To proceed, as from a cause or reason. Lax morals may grow from errors in opinion.
10. To accrue; to come.
Why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings. Ezra 4.
11. To swell; to increase; as, the wind grew to a tempest.
To grow out of, to issue from; as plants from the soil, or as a branch from the main stem.
These wars have grown out of commercial considerations.
To grow up, to arrive at manhood, or to advance to full stature or maturity.
To grow up,
To grow together, To close and adhere; to become united by growth; as flesh or the bark of a tree severed.
Grow, signifies properly to shoot out, to enlarge; but it is often used to denote a passing from one state to another, and from greater to less.
Marriages grow less frequent.
[To grow less, is an abuse of this word; the phrase should be to become less.]
GROW, v.t. To produce; to raise; as, a farmer grows large quantities of wheat. [This is a modern abusive use of grow, but prevalent in Great Britain, and the British use begins to be imitated in America. Until within a few years, we never heard grow used as a transitive verb in New England, and the ear revolts at the practice.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become; "The weather turned nasty"; "She grew angry" [syn: turn, grow]
2: become larger, greater, or bigger; expand or gain; "The problem grew too large for me"; "Her business grew fast"
3: increase in size by natural process; "Corn doesn't grow here"; "In these forests, mushrooms grow under the trees"; "her hair doesn't grow much anymore"
4: cause to grow or develop; "He grows vegetables in his backyard"
5: develop and reach maturity; undergo maturation; "He matured fast"; "The child grew fast" [syn: mature, maturate, grow]
6: come into existence; take on form or shape; "A new religious movement originated in that country"; "a love that sprang up from friendship"; "the idea for the book grew out of a short story"; "An interesting phenomenon uprose" [syn: originate, arise, rise, develop, uprise, spring up, grow]
7: cultivate by growing, often involving improvements by means of agricultural techniques; "The Bordeaux region produces great red wines"; "They produce good ham in Parma"; "We grow wheat here"; "We raise hogs here" [syn: grow, raise, farm, produce]
8: come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes); "He grew a beard"; "The patient developed abdominal pains"; "I got funny spots all over my body"; "Well-developed breasts" [syn: grow, develop, produce, get, acquire]
9: grow emotionally or mature; "The child developed beautifully in her new kindergarten"; "When he spent a summer at camp, the boy grew noticeably and no longer showed some of his old adolescent behavior" [syn: develop, grow]
10: become attached by or as if by the process of growth; "The tree trunks had grown together"

Merriam Webster's

verb (grew; grown; growing) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English gr?wan; akin to Old High German gruowan to grow Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 1. a. to spring up and develop to maturity b. to be able to grow in some place or situation <trees that grow in the tropics> c. to assume some relation through or as if through a process of natural growth <ferns growing from the rocks> 2. a. to increase in size by assimilation of material into the living organism or by accretion of material in a nonbiological process (as crystallization) b. increase, expand <grows in wisdom> 3. to develop from a parent source <the book grew out of a series of lectures> 4. a. to pass into a condition ; become <grew pale> b. to have an increasing influence <habit grows on a person> c. to become increasingly acceptable or attractive <didn't like it at first, but it grew on him> transitive verb 1. a. to cause to grow <grow wheat> b. to let grow on the body <grew a beard> 2. to promote the development of <start a business and grow it successfully — J. L. Deckter> • grower noun • growingly adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. (past grew; past part. grown) 1 intr. increase in size, height, quantity, degree, or in any way regarded as measurable (e.g. authority or reputation) (often foll. by in: grew in stature). 2 intr. a develop or exist as a living plant or natural product. b develop in a specific way or direction (began to grow sideways). c germinate, sprout; spring up. 3 intr. be produced; come naturally into existence; arise. 4 intr. (as grown adj.) fully matured; adult. 5 intr. a become gradually (grow rich; grow less). b (foll. by to + infin.) come by degrees (grew to like it). 6 intr. (foll. by into) a become, having grown or developed (the acorn has grown into a tall oak; will grow into a fine athlete). b become large enough for or suited to (will grow into the coat; grew into her new job). 7 intr. (foll. by on) become gradually more favoured by. 8 tr. a produce (plants, fruit, wood, etc.) by cultivation. b bring forth. c cause (a beard etc.) to develop. 9 tr. (in passive; foll. by over, up) be covered with a growth. Phrases and idioms: growing bag a bag containing peat-based potting compost in which plants may be grown. growing pains 1 early difficulties in the development of an enterprise etc. 2 neuralgic pain in children's legs due to fatigue etc. grown-up adj. adult. --n. an adult person. grow out of 1 become too large to wear (a garment). 2 become too mature to retain (a childish habit etc.). 3 be the result or development of. grow together coalesce. grow up 1 a advance to maturity. b (esp. in imper.) begin to behave sensibly. 2 (of a custom) arise, become common. Derivatives: growable adj. Etymology: OE growan f. Gmc, rel. to GRASS, GREEN

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Grow Grow, v. t. To cause to grow; to cultivate; to produce; as, to grow a crop; to grow wheat, hops, or tobacco. --Macaulay. Syn: To raise; to cultivate. See Raise, v. t., 3.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Grow Grow, v. i. [imp. Grew; p. p. Grown ; p. pr. & vb. n. {Growing.] [AS. grawan; akin to D. groeijen, Icel. groa, Dan. groe, Sw. gro. Cf. Green, Grass.] 1. To increase in size by a natural and organic process; to increase in bulk by the gradual assimilation of new matter into the living organism; -- said of animals and vegetables and their organs. 2. To increase in any way; to become larger and stronger; to be augmented; to advance; to extend; to wax; to accrue. Winter began to grow fast on. --Knolles. Even just the sum that I do owe to you Is growing to me by Antipholus. --Shak. 3. To spring up and come to matturity in a natural way; to be produced by vegetation; to thrive; to flourish; as, rice grows in warm countries. Where law faileth, error groweth. --Gower. 4. To pass from one state to another; to result as an effect from a cause; to become; as, to grow pale. For his mind Had grown Suspicion's sanctuary. --Byron. 5. To become attached of fixed; to adhere. Our knees shall kneel till to the ground they grow. --Shak. Growing cell, or Growing slide, a device for preserving alive a minute object in water continually renewed, in a manner to permit its growth to be watched under the microscope. Grown over, covered with a growth. To grow out of, to issue from, as plants from the soil, or as a branch from the main stem; to result from. These wars have grown out of commercial considerations. --A. Hamilton. To grow up, to arrive at full stature or maturity; as, grown up children.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(grows, growing, grew, grown) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. When people, animals, and plants grow, they increase in size and change physically over a period of time. We stop growing at maturity. VERB: V 2. If a plant or tree grows in a particular place, it is alive there. The station had roses growing at each end of the platform. VERB: V 3. If you grow a particular type of plant, you put seeds or young plants in the ground and look after them as they develop. I always grow a few red onions... VERB: V n 4. When someone's hair grows, it gradually becomes longer. Your nails also grow. Then the hair began to grow again and I felt terrific. VERB: V 5. If someone grows their hair, or grows a beard or moustache, they stop cutting their hair or shaving so that their hair becomes longer. You can also grow your nails. I'd better start growing my hair. VERB: V n 6. If someone grows mentally, they change and develop in character or attitude. They began to grow as persons. VERB: V 7. You use grow to say that someone or something gradually changes until they have a new quality, feeling, or attitude. I grew a little afraid of the guy next door... He grew to love his work. V-LINK: V adj, V to-inf 8. If an amount, feeling, or problem grows, it becomes greater or more intense. Opposition grew and the government agreed to negotiate. ...a growing number of immigrants. VERB: V, V-ing 9. If one thing grows into another, it develops or changes until it becomes that thing. The boys grew into men... This political row threatens to grow into a full blown crisis. VERB: V into n, V into n 10. If something such as an idea or a plan grows out of something else, it develops from it. The idea for this book grew out of conversations with Philippa Brewster. VERB: V out of n 11. If the economy or a business grows, it increases in wealth, size, or importance. (BUSINESS) The economy continues to grow. ...a fast growing business. VERB: V, V-ing 12. If someone grows a business, they take actions that will cause it to increase in wealth, size, or importance. (BUSINESS) To grow the business, he needs to develop management expertise and innovation across his team. VERB: V n 13. If a crystal grows, or if a scientist grows it, it forms from a solution. ...crystals that grow in cavities in the rock... We tried to grow some copper sulphate crystals with our children. VERB: V, V n 14. see also grown

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. 1. Enlarge, increase, expand, swell, extend, be augmented, become (by degrees) greater or larger. 2. Vegetate, sprout, germinate, shoot, bourgeon, pullulate, put forth, shoot up, spring up. 3. Advance, improve, wax, extend, swell, make progress, make improvement. 4. Become, wax, come to be, get to be. 5. Adhere, become attached, get fastened. II. v. a. Raise, produce, cultivate.

Moby Thesaurus

accrue, accumulate, advance, age, appreciate, arise, attain majority, balloon, be changed, be converted into, bear fruit, become, bloat, bloom, blossom, boom, breed, brew, broaden, bud, burgeon, burst forth, care for, carve, chisel, come, come of age, come over, come to be, come to maturity, convert, crescendo, crop, cultivate, culture, develop, dryfarm, enlarge, evolute, evolve, expand, extract, farm, fatten, feed, fledge, flourish, flower, foster, fructify, gain, gain strength, garden, gather, gemmate, germinate, get, get ahead, get to be, go, go up, grow rank, grow up, harvest, hatch, hypertrophy, increase, intensify, issue, keep, leaf, leaf out, leave, leave the nest, lengthen, luxuriate, machine, maturate, mature, mellow, mill, mine, mount, multiply, mushroom, nurse, nurture, originate, outgrow, overdevelop, overgrow, overrun, overtop, plant, process, procreate, produce, progress, proliferate, propagate, prosper, pullulate, pump, put forth, put forth leaves, put out buds, raise, ranch, reach manhood, reach twenty-one, reach voting age, rear, refine, reproduce, riot, ripe, ripen, rise, rise up, root, run, run up, season, settle down, sharecrop, shoot, shoot up, smelt, snowball, sow, spread, spring up, sprout, sprout up, stem, strengthen, strike root, swell, take root, temper, tend, thicken, thrive, toga virilis, tower, turn, turn into, upgrow, uprise, upshoot, upspear, upspring, upsprout, vegetate, wax, widen