Meanings
grow1
verbgrow (third-person singular simple present grows, present participle growing, simple past grew or (dialectal) growed, past participle grown or (dialectal) growed)
present singular third person grows · participle present growing · past grew · dialectal past growed · participle past grown · dialectal participle past growed · alternative archaic growe
- transitiveTo cause or allow something to become bigger, especially to cultivate plants.
Have you ever grown your hair before?
3 more examples
He grows peppers and squash each summer in his garden.
The Bush administration – which sought to grow the number of fisheries managed under a program known as “catch shares”...
2011 March 1, Peter Roff, “Another Foolish Move By Congress”, in Fox News, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2011And — again to overgeneralize from my experience — users may not want a second Twitter either. I was a heavy Twitter user for over a decade. I loved it until I didn’t. I made connections, grew a following, floated ideas, had fun. But it also became a second, often angry, voice inside my head. Do I want to replace it with another one?
2023 July 10, James Poniewozik, “The Twitter Watch Party Is Over”, in The New York Times - copulativeTo assume a condition or quality over time.
You have grown strong.
4 more examples
Near-synonyms: become, get, go, turn, come, fall, wax
The boy grew wise as he matured.
My cares grew less (and less) until they evanesced completely.
In fact she was so bus doing all the things that anyone might, who finds themselves alone in an empty house, that she did not notice at first when it began to turn dusk and the rooms to grow dim.
1967, Barbara Sleigh, Jessamy, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, published 1993, →ISBN, page 18 - intransitiveobsoleteTo become attached or fixed; to adhere.
Our knees shall kneel till to the ground they grow.
1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]
Grow2
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo undergo growth; to be present (somewhere).
Similar
Opposite
More synonyms by meaning
verbpass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
Similar
turnchange state
Broader
verbcome into existence; take on form or shape
Broader
verbcultivate by growing, often involving improvements by means of agricultural techniques
verbcome to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes)
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*gʰreh₁-“to grow, become green”
- Proto-Germanic*grōaną“to grow, grow green”
- Proto-West Germanic*grōan
- Old Englishgrōwan“to grow, increase, flourish, germinate”
- Middle Englishgrowen
- Englishgrow
From Middle English growen, from Old English grōwan (“to grow, increase, flourish, germinate”), from Proto-West Germanic *grōan, from Proto-Germanic *grōaną (“to grow, grow green”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- (“to grow, become green”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch groeien (“to grow”), German Low German grojen (“to green; thrive; take hold; flourish”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish gro (“to grow”), Faroese grógva (“to grow”), Icelandic gróa (“to grow”); also Latin grāmen (“grass, turf; herb, plant”), herba (“grass, herbage; weeds; plant”), Ukrainian гря́ний (hrjányj, “green”). Related to growth, grass, green.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek αὐξάνω
- αὐξάνω (auxánō)(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
Arabic نَمَى, كَبُرَ
- نَمَى (namā)(intransitive) to become bigger
- كَبُرَ (kabura)(intransitive) to become bigger
Bulgarian раста, нараствам
- раста (rasta)(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- нараствам (narastvam)(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- раста́ (rastá)(intransitive) to become bigger
Catalan créixer, cultivar
- créixer(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- cultivar(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- tornar-seto assume a condition or quality
- créixer(intransitive) to become bigger
Chinese Mandarin 種植 /种植, 蓄
- 種植 /种植 (zhòngzhí)(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- 蓄 (xù)(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- 生長 /生长 (shēngzhǎng)(intransitive) to become bigger
- 長 /长 (zhǎng)(intransitive) to become bigger
Czech pěstovat, růst
- pěstovat(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- růst(intransitive) to become bigger
Danish vokse, gro
- vokse(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- gro(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- udvikle sig(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- dyrke(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- avle(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- vokse(intransitive) to become bigger
- udvikle sig(intransitive) to become bigger
Dutch groeien, spruiten
- groeien(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- spruiten(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- ontspruiten(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- doen groeien(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- telen(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- kweken(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- groeien(intransitive) to become bigger
- wassen(intransitive) to become bigger
Esperanto kreski, kreskigi
- kreski(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- kreskigi(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- kultivi(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- kulturi(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- kreski(intransitive) to become bigger
Estonian kasvama, kasvatama
- kasvama(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- kasvatama(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- saamato assume a condition or quality
- kasvama(intransitive) to become bigger
Finnish kasvaa, kasvattaa
- kasvaa(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- kasvattaa(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- muuttuato assume a condition or quality
- tullato assume a condition or quality
- kasvaa(intransitive) to become bigger
French pousser, accroître
- pousser(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- accroître(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- faire croître(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- grandir(intransitive) to become bigger
- croître(intransitive) to become bigger
German wachsen, anbauen
- wachsen(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- anbauen(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- ziehen(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- züchten(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- wachsen(intransitive) to become bigger
Greek αυξάνω, μεγαλώνω
- αυξάνω (afxáno)(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- μεγαλώνω (megalóno)(intransitive) to become bigger
Hebrew צמח, גידל \ גִּדֵּל
- צמח (tzamákh)(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- גידל \ גִּדֵּל (gidél)(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- גָּדַל (gadál)(intransitive) to become bigger
Hindi उगना, उभरना
- उगना (ugnā)(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- उभरना (ubharnā)(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- उपजना (upajnā)(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- बढ़ना (baṛhnā)(intransitive) to become bigger
Hungarian nő, növekszik
- nő(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- növekszik(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- termel(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- termeszt(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- növeszt(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- leszto assume a condition or quality
- -ulto assume a condition or quality
- -ülto assume a condition or quality
- -odikto assume a condition or quality
- -edikto assume a condition or quality
- -ödikto assume a condition or quality
- nő(intransitive) to become bigger
Icelandic vaxa, gróa
- vaxa(intransitive) to become bigger
- gróa(intransitive) to become bigger
Irish fás, fás
- fás(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- fás(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- fás(intransitive) to become bigger
Italian spuntare, coltivare
- spuntare(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- coltivare(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- crescere(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- diventareto assume a condition or quality
- apparireto assume a condition or quality
- crescere(intransitive) to become bigger
- ingrossarsi(intransitive) to become bigger
- svilupparsi(intransitive) to become bigger
Japanese 育てる, 成長する
- 育てる (sodateru)(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- 成長する (seichō suru)(intransitive) to become bigger
- 生長する (seichō suru)(intransitive) to become bigger
- 育つ (sodatsu)(intransitive) to become bigger
- 生える (haeru)(intransitive) to become bigger
- 増大する (sōdai suru)(intransitive) to become bigger
Korean 자라다, 자라다
- 자라다 (jarada)(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- 자라다 (jarada)(intransitive) to become bigger
Latin cresco, alesco
- cresco(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- alesco(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- alo(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- augeō(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- mātūrōto assume a condition or quality
- cresco(intransitive) to become bigger
- adolesco(intransitive) to become bigger
- grandesco(intransitive) to become bigger
Latvian augt
- augt(intransitive) to become bigger
Lithuanian augti
- augti(intransitive) to become bigger
Malay besarkan, tumbuh
- besarkan(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- tumbuh(intransitive) to become bigger
Māori whakatipu, whakatupu
- whakatipu(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- whakatupu(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- ohi(intransitive) to become bigger
- tipu(intransitive) to become bigger
- tupu(intransitive) to become bigger
Norwegian dyrke, vokse
- dyrke(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- vokse(intransitive) to become bigger
Persian روییدن, رستن
- روییدن (ruyidan)(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- رستن (rostan)(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- رویاندن (ruyândan)(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- رشد کردن (rošd kardan)(intransitive) to become bigger
- رستن (rostan)(intransitive) to become bigger
Polish powiększać, powiększyć
- powiększać(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- powiększyć(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- zapuszczać(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- zapuścić(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- uprawiać(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- uprawić(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- zostawaćto assume a condition or quality
- zostaćto assume a condition or quality
- stawać sięto assume a condition or quality
- stać sięto assume a condition or quality
- robić sięto assume a condition or quality
- zrobić sięto assume a condition or quality
Portuguese crescer, cultivar
- crescer(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- cultivar(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- crescer(intransitive) to become bigger
Punjabi ਵਧਣਾ
- ਵਧਣਾ (vadhṇā)(intransitive) to become bigger
Romanian crește
- crește(intransitive) to become bigger
Russian расти́, выраста́ть
- расти́ (rastí)(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- выраста́ть (vyrastátʹ)(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- вы́расти (výrasti)(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- расти́ть (rastítʹ)(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- выра́щивать (vyráščivatʹ)(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- вы́растить (výrastitʹ)(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- расти́ (rastí)(intransitive) to become bigger
- выраста́ть (vyrastátʹ)(intransitive) to become bigger
- вы́расти (výrasti)(intransitive) to become bigger
Scottish Gaelic fàs, fàs
- fàs(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- fàsto assume a condition or quality
- fàs(intransitive) to become bigger
- cinn(intransitive) to become bigger
Slovak rásť
- rásť(intransitive) to become bigger
Spanish crecer, cultivar
- crecer(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- cultivar(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- acrecer(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- comenzarto assume a condition or quality
- crecer(intransitive) to become bigger
Swahili kuza
- kuza(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
Swedish växa, odla
- växa(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- odla(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- växa(intransitive) to become bigger
Tagalog lumaki
- lumaki(intransitive) to become bigger
Tamil முளை, வளர்த்து
- முளை (muḷai)(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- வளர்த்து (vaḷarttu)(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- ஆ (ā)to assume a condition or quality
- ஆகு (āku)to assume a condition or quality
- வளர் (vaḷar)(intransitive) to become bigger
Thai งอก, เพาะ
- งอก (ngɔ̂ɔk)(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- เพาะ (pɔ́)(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- โต (dtoo)(intransitive) to become bigger
- โตขึ้น (dtoo-kʉ̂n)(intransitive) to become bigger
Turkish büyümek
- büyümek(intransitive) to become bigger
Ukrainian рости́, зроста́ти
- рости́ (rostý)(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- зроста́ти (zrostáty)(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- вироста́ти (vyrostáty)(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- виро́щувати (vyróščuvaty)(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- рости́ти (rostýty)(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- рости́ (rostý)(intransitive) to become bigger
- ви́рости (výrosty)(intransitive) to become bigger
Urdu بڑهنا
- بڑهنا (baṛhnā)(intransitive) to become bigger
Vietnamese mọc, nuôi lớn
- mọc(intransitive) to appear or sprout
- nuôi lớn(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- nuôi(transitive) to cause something to become bigger
- lớn(intransitive) to become bigger
- lớn lên(intransitive) to become bigger
Welsh tyfu
- tyfu(intransitive) to become bigger
Yiddish וואַקסן
- וואַקסן (vaksn)(intransitive) to become bigger
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with grow
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
grow. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grow
MLA
“grow.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grow. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “grow,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grow.
Source: grow on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.