Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Grow

Grow

(grō)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp.
Grew
(grṳ)
;
p. p.
Grown
(grōn)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Growing
.]
[AS.
grōwan
; akin to D.
groeijen
, Icel.
grōa
, 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.
Shakespeare
3.
To spring up and come to maturity 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 or fixed; to adhere.
Our knees shall kneel till to the ground they
grow
.
Shakespeare
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.

Syn. – To become; increase; enlarge; augment; improve; expand; extend.
Syn. – To raise; to cultivate. See
Raise
,
Verb.
T.
, 3.

Webster 1828 Edition

Grow

GROW

,
Verb.
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. Ps.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

,
Verb.
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.]

Definition 2024

grow

grow

English

Verb

grow ‎(third-person singular simple present grows, present participle growing, simple past grew, past participle grown)

  1. (ergative) To become bigger.
    Children grow quickly.
  2. (intransitive) To appear or sprout.
    Flowers grew on the trees as summer approached.
    A long tail began to grow from his backside.
  3. (transitive) To cause or allow something to become bigger, especially to cultivate plants.
    • 2011 March 1, Peter Roff, “Another Foolish Move By Congress”, in Fox News:
      The Bush administration – which sought to grow the number of fisheries managed under a program known as “catch shares”...
    He grows peppers and squash each summer in his garden.
    Have you ever grown your hair before?
  4. (copulative) To assume a condition or quality over time.
    The boy grew wise as he matured.
    The town grew smaller and smaller in the distance as we travelled.
    You have grown strong.
  5. (intransitive, obsolete) To become attached or fixed; to adhere.
    • Shakespeare
      Our knees shall kneel till to the ground they grow.

Usage notes

  • Growed is a slang or dialect inflection for the simple past and past participle.

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

References

  • grow at OneLook Dictionary Search

Etymology

From Middle English growen, from Old English grōwan ‎(“to grow, increase, flourish, germinate”), from Proto-Germanic *grōaną ‎(“to grow, grow green”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- ‎(“to grow, become green”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ɡɹəʊ/, [ˈɡɹəʊ̯]
  • (US) IPA(key): /ɡɹoʊ/, [ˈɡɹoʊ̯]
  • Rhymes: -əʊ

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