Word family noun grower growth undergrowth outgrowth overgrowth adjective growing grown overgrown verb grow outgrow
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgrowgrow /ɡrəʊ $ ɡroʊ/ ●●● S1 W1 verb (past tense grew /ɡruː/, past participle grown /ɡrəʊn $ ɡroʊn/) 1 increase a) [intransitive]INCREASE IN NUMBER OR AMOUNT to increase in amount, size, number, or strength OPP shrink Support for Mr Thompson is growing.grow by Sales of new cars grew by 10% last year.grow from/to The number of students at the college has grown from 200 to over 500. A growing number of people are taking part-time jobs.grow rapidly/slowly/steadily The economy has grown steadily. Fears are growing for the crew’s safety.grow in a city that is still growing in size Skiing has really grown in popularity. There is growing concern about climate change. my growing interest in China b) [transitive] to make a business or part of a business bigger and more successful We want to grow the export side of the business.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say an amount or level goes up rather than grows:Sales went up by 10% last year.The population of the town has gone up to almost a million.► see thesaurus at become, increase2 person/animal [intransitive]GROW/GET BIGGER to become bigger, taller etc over a period of time in the process of becoming an adult OPP shrink You’ve really grown since I last saw you. Victor seemed to grow taller every day.grow 2 inches/5 cm etc Stan grew two inches in six months.3 plants a) [intransitive]GROW/GET BIGGER if plants grow, they exist and develop in a natural way a tree which will grow well in most types of soil The plants grow wild (=grow without anyone looking after them) by the river. b) [transitive]GROW PLANTS, VEGETABLES ETC to make plants or crops develop and produce fruit or flowers → raise Many families own plots of land to grow food. Britain grows 6,000,000 tonnes of potatoes a year. The growing season is from April to September.4 hair/nails a) [transitive]INCREASE IN NUMBER OR AMOUNT if you grow your hair or nails, you do not cut them I’ve decided to grow my hair long.grow a beard/moustache b) [intransitive]INCREASE IN NUMBER OR AMOUNT when hair or nails grow, they become longer5 BECOMEbecome a) [intransitive always + adj] to change and become different quite slowly The sound was growing louder. Her tastes have changed as she’s grown older. Donna has grown tired of being a model. Gradually, Fiona’s eyes grew used to the darkness (=she gradually became able to see a little better). b) [intransitive] to gradually change your opinions and have a feeling that you did not have beforegrow to like/hate/respect etc After a while the kids grew to like Mr Cox. the city he had grown to loveRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say get older/tired/angry etc rather than grow older/tired/angry etc, which sounds rather literary:The sound was getting louder. 6 improve [intransitive]IMPROVE to gradually become better, bigger etcgrow as She’s grown tremendously as a musician.7 → it/money doesn’t grow on trees → grow apart → grow into somebody/something → grow on somebody → grow out → grow out of something → grow up→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
grow• Amy grew 6 inches last year.• It's hard to believe how much the kids have grown.• Are you growing a beard?• Her confidence grew, and soon she was able to go out driving on her own.• China's economic output continues to grow at a remarkable annual rate.• Profits in the military aircraft business grew by 28% to a record $905 million.• He used to long for his holidays and grow deeply depressed when they drew to an end.• And despite the rickety infrastructure, computer networks are growing fast.• Fears are growing for the safety of the missing children.• It's too cold for orchids to grow here.• Our lawn has all kinds of weeds growing in it.• Farmers in this area grow mainly wheat.• As we grow old, we worry more about our health.• Lower prices on inline skates have also contributed to their growing popularity.• Beth has grown quite a bit as an actress.• Mark's business grew rapidly in the first year.• Demand for new cars is growing rapidly.• Her household has grown since then.• The traditional markets of western equipment companies are growing slowly, if at all.• All this is necessary if we are to grow the business.• Jamie's grown three inches this year.• Fiona was growing tired of being treated in this way.• That staff should grow to 30, he said, and many new employees are likely to be former Polaroid workers.• As he grew to manhood, Vologsky had accepted that state of being as both normal and even desirable.• The most outrageous examples involve force-feeding massive doses of sugar substitutes to white laboratory mice, who eventually grew tumors.• I'd been waiting for forty minutes and I was beginning to grow uneasy.• It's very satisfying growing your own vegetables.grow in• The issue of security on the Internet has been growing in importance in the past few years.grow taller• After a while they brought their bowls out of the cupboard and the green leaves grew taller and flower buds began to fatten.• He grows taller but barely grows up and will never grow old.growing season• This region has a fairly short growing season.• Also, you could then irrigate the lower valley lands, which usually have better soil and a longer growing season.• In general, animals, herd sizes and farms are small: crop-growing is limited by climate and the short growing season.• It bears fruit continuously throughout the growing season.• Today, there are several okra strains that do splendidly even in shorter growing seasons.• Poor soil and short growing seasons add to the farmer's problems.• During the main growing season from April to September, frequent watering is required, adding a liquid houseplant feed each week.• A long growing season is unlikely to occur in a high rainfall area or on ground above 600 feet.grow a beard/moustache• A bollard trying to grow a beard.• By 1966, they were allowed to grow beards.• Either that, or he had only yesterday decided to bow to fashion and grow a beard.• Men get sea legs and become catlike and grow beards.• School monitors are distinguished in many ways, the most obvious being the vermilion gown; they may also grow a moustache.• Anyone growing a beard was immediately condemned as a dangerous left wing revolutionary.grow to like/hate/respect etc• It did not matter that it was the Rose they had grown to like.• It was the sort of match Evert has grown to hate.• I did not think I could grow to like a hairy bear, but I looked at this man with great hope.• And she had grown to like both her employers.• Miguel grew to like him, his keen mind, his quiet ways, his sharp jokes.• But he'd grow to like that.• I grew to like you more and more - I didn't try to hide it.From Longman Business Dictionarygrowgrow /grəʊgroʊ/ verb (past tense grew /gruː/, past participle grown /grəʊngroʊn/)COMMERCE1[intransitive] to increase in amount, size, or degreeSeaman grew rapidly, becoming one of the largest advertisers in the New York area.As the US starts to grow again, it will be a more attractive place in which to invest.grow byIn the past 12 months, the labor force has grown by around 60,000.2[transitive] if you grow a business activity, you make it biggerWe want to grow the export side of the business.→ See Verb tableOrigin grow Old English growan 