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Glite Dictionary
🧠 To mature 📈 To get bigger 🔄 To become 🌱 To develop 🥕 To plant 🧬 To join naturally
to grow

to grow

801 1.0
Plant and care for crops or plants for food
  • verb
  • /ɡroʊ/
translation icon : cultivar
  • If you have two square feet, you can grow that much lettuce.
  • grow crops
  • grow food
  • grow plants

Compared to how much water cotton needs to grow, that's a win.

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Examples

  • And my last vegetable to grow in fall is kale.

    Epic Gardening

  • Roses demand much time and dedication to grow.

    Milarepa (2025)

  • You could use that space to grow food for free.

  • Then in the spring, these will grow and look like these.

  • Have you ever noticed that plants grow toward the light?

  • For most people, the easiest plant to grow is a tomato plant.

    The 85 South Comedy Show

  • You could extend the growing season and bring in more exotic crops to new regions.

    Academic text (2012)

  • Today, much research is being undertaken to grow new organs using the recipients' own stem cells.

    Academic text (2012)

  • The list shows USDA findings of conventionally grown foods most likely to contain pesticide residues.

    Academic text (2015)

  • You can easily grow herbs in a small garden or even in pots on a windowsill.

Synonyms

to raise
vsto grow
∞ 1.4

To care for and help a child, animal, or plant grow

is limited to working with plants rather than caring for people or animals
to produce
vsto grow
  • Specialized
480 3.0

To grow plants or crops for food

focuses on general care of plants rather than technical yield improvement
to farm
vsto grow
42 1.0

To grow crops or raise animals for food

focuses on caring for plants specifically rather than running whole agricultural operations
to cultivate
vsto grow
38 4.0

To prepare land for growing crops

is about caring for plants themselves rather than just preparing soil
to make grow
vsto grow
2 2.9

To help something become bigger or better over time

emphasizes hands on care and tending rather than only causing development

Antonyms

to destroy
∞ 1.0

Damage something so badly that it cannot be used or fixed

neglect
100 3.5

Not caring for someone or something that needs care

Idioms

to grow a pair
  • Offensive
8 9.9

To become braver and more confident in difficult situations

to grow some balls
  • Offensive
4 9.9

To become braver and act when you are afraid

to let the grass grow under someone's feet
  • Informal
1 8.6

Wait too long to act and miss a chance

to grow a set
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To become more brave and confident when facing problems

to hear the grass grow
  • Informal
1 9.9

A very quiet place where even the smallest sounds seem noticeable

do not grow on trees
  • Informal
8.1

Not easy to find or get

absence makes the heart grow fonder
  • Informal
6.8

Being apart from someone makes you care for them more

to grow some skin
  • Informal
9.4

To become less upset by criticism or problems

Phrasal Verbs

to grow up
∞ 1.3

To change from a child into an adult

to grow out of
31 3.2

Stop liking, doing, or feeling something as you get older

to grow over
4 3.5

To spread over something and cover it, as moss or vines do

to grow together
4 3.9

To join so closely that two things become one, for example plants or bones

to make grow
2 2.9

To help something become bigger or better over time

to grow on someone
5.3

To slowly become more liked by someone

to grow up and settle down
3.4

Become an adult and start a steady life with a job or family

How Productive

to farm
42 1.0
to grow
801 1.0
to cultivate
38 4.0
to tend
174 1.0
to plant
361 1.0

Surface Forms

grow infinitive
growing present participle
grows third person singular
grew past
grown past participle

Etymology

Grow comes from an old Germanic word grōwan that meant 'to become green', which fits plants turning green as they develop. So, to grow plants means to care for them so they become larger and produce food or flowers.