to grow up and settle down
- phrasal verb
- He felt ready to grow up and settle down when he found a job he loved.
Examples
-
I used to be scared of growing up and settling down and that was until I fell in love with you and now I can't wait.
-
After traveling the world, she decided to grow up and settle down in her hometown.
-
Many people believe that it is time to grow up and settle down after starting a family.
Synonyms
To start living a quiet, steady life by having a regular job or a family
Antonyms
How Settled
Surface Forms
Morphology
grow + up + and + settle + down
This is a coordinated phrase made from two common, largely compositional phrasal verbs: 'grow up' (to mature) and 'settle down' (to establish a stable life). Both senses follow predictable particle‑verb patterns and are cross‑linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can readily infer the combined meaning.
Etymology
Grow up and settle down gives a clear image: first grow up like a child becoming an adult, then settle down like someone putting down roots in one home. So it means 'to mature and live a steady life', for example by getting a steady job or starting a family.