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grow into meaning and examples

2025-09-12

Meaning

The phrasal verb “grow into” means to gradually develop into something or become suitable for something over time. It can refer to personal development, fitting into clothes as one gets bigger, or acquiring skills and maturity.

Grammar and Usage

  • Part of speech: Phrasal verb

  • Transitive/Intransitive: Transitive (requires an object)

  • Typical structures:

    • grow into + noun (develop into something)
    • grow into + piece of clothing (become large enough to fit)

Main Uses:

  1. Personal development: to gradually develop the qualities or abilities needed for a role, situation, or identity. Example: She grew into a confident leader.

  2. Clothing: to eventually become big enough to wear clothes that are currently too large. Example: Don’t throw away that jacket—he’ll grow into it soon.

Common Phrases

  • grow into a role
  • grow into a habit
  • grow into an adult
  • grow into confidence

Collocations

  • grow into + responsibility
  • grow into + position
  • grow into + shoes/jacket/clothes
  • grow into + leader/manager

Examples

  1. She eventually grew into the role of team leader.
  2. He bought his son a bigger bike, expecting him to grow into it in a year.
  3. The shy boy grew into a self-assured adult.
  4. You’ll grow into the responsibilities of parenthood over time.
  5. The sweater looks large now, but she’ll grow into it quickly.
  6. Over the years, he grew into a talented musician.
  7. The company hopes its interns will grow into future managers.
  • develop into
  • mature into
  • evolve into
  • turn into

Antonym

  • grow out of (to stop fitting into something physically or to lose interest in something as one matures)