Meaning & use
grown woman
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Meanings
nouncountable
A woman who is fully an adult, as opposed to a girl or teenager, and so able to make her own decisions.
Grammar: Plural is grown women: they are grown women, not children.
Patterns
- a grown woman who does something
- a grown woman like someone
She is a grown woman and does not need anyone to choose her clothes.
It felt strange to be a grown woman and still sleep in my childhood bedroom.
The class was full of grown women learning to swim for the first time.
phrasefixed phraseinformal
Said, often by a woman about herself, to insist on being treated as a mature adult who can decide things independently.
Grammar: Often appears in the pattern 'I'm a grown woman', sometimes with a clause: I'm a grown woman, and I can pay my own bills.
Patterns
- I'm a grown woman
I'm a grown woman, Dad, and I can cross the street alone.
She reminded them that she was a grown woman who could manage her own money.
Word forms
| plural | grown women |
|---|
Common combinations
- a fully grown woman
- By twenty-five, she was a fully grown woman with her own career.
- act like a grown woman
- He told her to act like a grown woman and own up to her mistake.
- treat someone as a grown woman
- All she wanted was to be treated as a grown woman.
- grown woman crying
- I am a grown woman crying over a cartoon.
Synonyms and how they differ
- adult woman
- Adult woman is the neutral, official phrase, while grown woman is more emphatic and conversational.
- mature woman
- Mature woman stresses maturity or later adulthood and may suggest older age.
- woman
- Woman is enough in most cases; grown woman adds emphasis on being fully adult.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: grown woman or grown vs. grown-up?
grown woman vs grown vs. grown-up
Grown woman is a two-word noun phrase, while grown-up is a hyphenated word that can be an adjective or a noun for any adult.
Practice
What does the speaker mean by 'I'm a grown woman, and I don't need permission'?
Choose one answer.
The phrase insists on adult independence. It is not about height or being older than others.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “grown woman”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.