Meaning & use
grown
Last updated
“grown” is a form of “grow”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Fully developed in body and no longer a child.
Grammar: Used before words like man, woman or adult: a grown man.
Patterns
- a grown man
- a grown woman
A grown man should know how to cook a simple meal.
Her grown children visit every holiday.
He is a grown adult and can make his own choices.
verbtransitive or intransitive
The past participle of grow, meaning has become larger, older or more developed, or has been cultivated.
Grammar: Used after have or be: the child has grown; the tomatoes were grown locally.
Patterns
- have grown
- be grown in somewhere
The city has grown quickly over the last decade.
These vegetables were grown without chemicals.
You have grown so tall since I last saw you!
adjectivebefore a noun
Cultivated or produced in a particular way or place, usually in compound words.
Grammar: Appears in compounds such as home-grown or organically grown.
Patterns
- locally grown
- home-grown
We buy only locally grown apples.
The restaurant serves home-grown herbs.
Greenhouse-grown tomatoes ripen even in winter.
Common combinations
- fully grown
- A fully grown elephant can weigh several tons.
- grown man
- It was strange to see a grown man crying at the movie.
- grown-up
- She finally felt like a grown-up when she signed the lease.
- home-grown
- He served home-grown strawberries at the party.
- have grown
- The team has grown a lot since last year.
- overgrown
- The garden was overgrown with weeds.
Synonyms and how they differ
- adult
- Adult is the neutral, formal word for a fully grown person, whereas grown is more casual and used before a noun.
- mature
- Mature suggests emotional and mental development as well as age, so it can describe behavior.
- full-grown
- Full-grown stresses reaching full size, so it is also used for animals and plants.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: grown or groan? grown or grew?
grown vs groan
Groan is a low sound of pain or complaint and looks a little like grown but is a different word.
grown vs grew
Grew is the simple past tense; grown is the past participle used after have or be.
Practice
My cousin has ______ at least four inches since last summer.
Choose one answer.
After has, the past participle grown is required. Grew is the simple past and would be wrong after has.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “grown”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.