verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a child grows up
▪ One in four children is growing up in poverty.
a company grows/expands
▪ The company has expanded year on year.
a growing deficit (=becoming bigger)
▪ Congress must slash federal spending to curb a growing deficit.
a growing industry
▪ Tourism is a growing industry in the many parts of the developing world.
a growing influence
▪ Many people are worried about the growing influence of these websites.
a growing sense of sth (=becoming stronger)
▪ She looked around with a growing sense of unease.
a growing shortage (=one that is increasing)
▪ The United States is facing a growing shortage of information technology workers.
a growing/increasing need
▪ She emphasized the growing need to deal with environmental problems.
a growing/increasing number
▪ An increasing number of women are entering the profession.
a growing/increasing/rising trend
▪ a growing trend towards globalization in world markets
a growing/widening gap
▪ There is a widening gap in the academic performance of boys and girls.
a legend grew (up) (=developed over time)
▪ The legend of his bravery grew after he killed the dragon.
a myth grows up (=starts)
▪ A number of myths have grown up about their relationship.
a number increases/goes up/grows/rises
▪ The number of mobile phones has increased dramatically.
a plant grows
▪ The plant grows to a height of about 20 inches.
a population grows/increases/rises
▪ Between these years the population grew by 40%.
a species grows somewhere (=used about plants)
▪ The species grows wild in Europe.
an empire grows
▪ As the empire grew, its new territories needed to be protected.
an industry grows/expands
▪ The clothing industry grew rapidly during the 1960s.
become/grow impatient (with sb/sth)
▪ We are growing impatient with the lack of results.
become/grow/get accustomed to sth
▪ Her eyes quickly became accustomed to the dark.
become/grow/get restless
▪ The children had been indoors all day, and were getting restless.
continue/grow/go unchecked
▪ We cannot allow such behaviour to continue unchecked.
escalating/growing violence (=violence that is becoming worse)
▪ There have been reports of escalating violence in the region.
exports increase/rise/grow
▪ Electronics exports grew more slowly than in previous years.
flowers grow
▪ Flowers were growing along the side of the road.
gain/grow/increase in popularity
▪ Extreme sports are growing in popularity.
gathering/growing darknessliterary (= night that is slowly coming)
▪ The garden was almost invisible now in the gathering darkness.
get/become/grow worse
▪ The recession was getting worse.
get/grow/become maudlin
▪ Sir Ralph was becoming maudlin after his third glass of claret.
grew in stature (=became more admired or popular)
▪ He grew in stature during the campaign.
grow a crop
▪ Many crops are grown from seed every year.
grow a plant
▪ It is not an easy plant to grow.
grow boredwritten
▪ She grew bored and started gazing out of the window.
grow flowers
▪ He grows flowers as well as vegetables.
grow rich (=become rich)
▪ They have grown rich by selling this technology to other companies.
grow sth from seed (=grow a plant from a seed rather than buying it as a small plant)
▪ You can grow most vegetables from seed.
grow sth on a farm
▪ They grew wheat and barley on their farm.
grow to enormous etc proportions
▪ The fish grows to gigantic proportions.
grow to/reach a length of 2 metres/8 feet etc
▪ A blue whale can reach a length of 100 feet.
grow up in poverty
▪ No child should grow up in poverty in America in the 21st century.
grow vegetables
▪ If we had a garden, we could grow our own vegetables.
grow your hair (long) (=let it grow longer)
▪ I’m growing my hair long, but it’s taking forever.
growing consensus (=one that more people are agreeing on)
▪ The growing consensus is that we should focus on economic efficiency.
growing discontent
▪ Perhaps she sensed my growing discontent.
growing disenchantment
▪ Voters expressed growing disenchantment with the government.
growing medium
▪ a good growing medium for tomatoes
growing menace
▪ the growing menace of oil pollution at sea
growing pains
▪ the growing pains of a new republic
growing realization
▪ There is a growing realization that we must manage the earth’s resources more carefully.
growing/increasing importance
▪ the growing importance of the Internet as a source of information
growing/increasing inequality
▪ Income trends are shifting form increasing equality to increasing inequality.
growing/increasing resentment
▪ Soon growing resentment against foreigners erupted into violence.
growing/increasing/rising popularity
▪ This may be the key to explaining Celtic music's increasing popularity.
growing/mounting concern
▪ Growing concern has been expressed over the pollution of the North Sea.
growing/mounting criticism
▪ The government was faced with mounting criticism at home and abroad.
growing/mounting excitement
▪ The children waited with growing excitement.
growing/mounting opposition (=opposition that is increasing)
▪ There was growing opposition to the war.
growing/mounting unrest
▪ Rocketing unemployment led to growing unrest in the country.
growing/mounting/rising panic (=increasing panic)
▪ She quickly packed a bag, trying all the time to control her mounting panic.
growing/rising/increased expectations (=becoming higher)
▪ China's economy will grow considerably over the next five years, bringing rising expectations of wealth.
growing/rising/mounting anger
▪ There is growing anger among drivers over the rise in fuel prices.
grown fond of
▪ I’d grown fond of the place and it was difficult to leave.
grown...fond of
▪ Over the years we’ve grown very fond of each other.
grows tall
▪ This bush grows tall very quickly.
imports increase/rise/grow
▪ Imports increased by 13 percent last year.
increased/increasing/growing demand
▪ One of the problems is the growing demand for housing.
increasing/growing competition
▪ the growing competition between banks
increasing/growing/mounting/rising tension
▪ There are reports of increasing tension in some areas.
interest grows
▪ Interest in the project has steadily grown.
optimism grows
▪ His optimism grew as the time came nearer for his release.
profits rise/increase/grow
▪ Half of the firms surveyed expected profits to rise.
rapidly growing/changing/expanding etc
▪ the rapidly changing world of technology
reach/come to/grow to maturity
▪ These insects reach full maturity after a few weeks.
sales increase/rise/grow/go up
▪ Sales rose by 9% last year.
sb's excitement grows (=it increases)
▪ Her excitement grew as the day of the wedding came nearer.
sb’s confidence grows/increases
▪ Since she started her new school, her confidence has grown a lot.
suspicion grew
▪ Suspicion grew that the business was about to collapse.
the economy develops/expands/grows (=becomes more successful)
▪ The economy grew by 3% last year.
the growing/planting etc season (=for growing or planting crops)
▪ The growing season is short in these mountainous areas.
turn/grow cold (=become cold, especially suddenly)
▪ The birds fly south before the weather turns cold.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
by
▪ Between 1952 and 1981 electricity generating capacity grew by over 14% per year.
▪ At 357 feet high, the dam has grown by nearly a third.
▪ Buick's share of the market has grown by about a percentage point, to 6.5%.
▪ There he saw a poverty-wracked country that was growing by nearly 10 million people a year.
▪ His company has seen exports grow by over 50 percent a year for the past three years.
▪ The breach between them grew by itself, a result of misunderstandings, inadequate concessions and ineffectual violence.
▪ Its membership had grown by one-fifth in the last year to 7,335, he explained.
▪ Full-time female employment in the service sector grew by just 2000 or 4% between these years.
more
▪ Erica, although knowing none of this, had grown more scathing, with her outsider's eye. not less.
▪ Since she had seen him in Marlott, his face had grown more thoughtful.
▪ As the farmers who held out felt increasingly alone, their methods grew more and more violent.
▪ The puppet performance grows more venomous until the adventurers walk out or the puppets attack.
▪ The link between education and economic success has grown more and more important over the past thirty years.
▪ The door was pushed open and Zak Smythe, who grew more benign as the days went by, appeared.
▪ Its stock has grown more than 1, 000 percent in the past decade.
rapidly
▪ Their presence in London first developed following the relaxation of exchange control in 1958 and has grown rapidly since.
▪ Cidco, with revenues of $ 194 million last year, holds a 60 percent share of the rapidly growing market.
▪ Most of them have populations that are growing rapidly.
▪ It appears to be most damaging to rapidly growing organs in the body, Etzel said.
▪ In fact money supply grew rapidly and by 1989 inflation was over 8 percent.
▪ Sprint, an early entrant into the commercial Internet, has a rapidly growing Internet services business.
▪ The numbers of those on the waiting lists for housing has grown rapidly, as have the numbers of homeless in Britain.
▪ Bishop asserts that the most rapidly growing occupations require above-average skills and training.
slowly
▪ The traditional markets of western equipment companies are growing slowly, if at all.
▪ Their steady, reliable earnings growth attracts investors primarily when the economy is growing slowly or not at all.
▪ As time passed, the face in the picture grew slowly more terrible.
▪ The numbers of the bilingual service providers which are already mentioned are growing slowly.
▪ The demand for Navajo blankets slowly grew until the railroad arrived at reservation boundaries in 1881.
▪ Individuals feed and grow slowly, spending longer at each growth stage and ultimately producing fewer eggs.
▪ It was slowly growing louder and louder.
steadily
▪ Seb was forced to watch her grow steadily weaker.
▪ He grew steadily worse, you know.
▪ Owner-occupation has grown steadily, both nationally and in rural areas, since the 1950s.
▪ Although their love for each other was growing steadily, the emotion was tempered with suspicion.
▪ The list of transactions has grown steadily since Symington filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in September.
▪ It shows that the proportion of female enrolments has been growing steadily, though it is still some way short of parity.
▪ In addition, with transaction volume growing steadily, banks discovered that ATMs resulted in real cost savings.
to
▪ My hands would grow to twice their size and my head would shrink.
▪ Since its launch in 1988, sales of OS/2 have grown to only about 300,000 a year.
▪ It will grow to approx. 20 feet.
▪ Hospital waiting lists have grown to almost one million people awaiting treatment.
▪ Related species often grow to twice the diameter.
▪ Under John Irvine's leadership the 100 who came have grown to over 300 in three years.
▪ The average female specimen grows to about 10 centimetres in length, and the male 3-4 centimetres longer.
▪ By 1989, this had grown to about 55,000 solicitors and 5000 barristers.
up
▪ The implications for understanding development as people grow up and become parents and for the delivery of health care are examined.
▪ He grew up in New Hampshire, a cherubic child with cheeks like Freestone peaches.
▪ You never thought that being grown up would mean having to be quite so - how can I put it?
▪ Burnished visuals are a plus in this memory piece about a boy growing up in Depression-era South Philadelphia.
▪ She wanted to grow up, get married and have children.
▪ But you also have to grow up and find a way of developing and maintaining good relationships.
▪ But it got finished eventually, and Ellis and his brothers and sisters all had room to grow up in it.
▪ How many young boys grew up longing for such distinction?
■ NOUN
business
▪ The value of the business grew fivefold from 1979 to 1990.
▪ His interest in the business grew after reading trade magazines and other material about the business.
▪ Meanwhile Hobor predicts that the speciality chemical businesses will continue to grow through small niche acquisitions as well as internal growth through new products.
▪ This becomes part of your mission statement and will help you focus as your business grows.
▪ The £30,000 capital with which George and Marie had started in business had now grown to £140,000.
▪ The penalty imposed by big government for expansion in business is a growing burden of responsibility, paperwork and liability.
▪ McKinsey rarely acquires other businesses, preferring to grow organically.
child
▪ The child Nizan grew up in the shadow of death.
▪ The children can grow up together, they will be inseparable.
▪ Landscapes are peaceful and unscarred, animals roam free, children never grow up and work is virtually non-existent.
▪ In Britain, despite growing national prosperity, one in four children is growing up in poverty.
▪ There is a drawing of the mail-order pantsuit she purchased for job interviews when her children were grown.
▪ As closing time drew near, the children grew less.
▪ The child grows up with intimate forms of speech, but requires the deferential forms in later contact with the world.
crop
▪ Farmers grow only a few crops, while gatherers pick from a vast range of wild plants.
▪ Some villagers, those with capital, established rubber smallholdings, or grew other crops for the market.
▪ The population increased: so did rice production: so did the growing of new crops.
▪ Ohio-valley dwellers of this time were farmers, and pollen tests show that they grew the crop.
▪ Enormous discipline would be necessary to run the irrigation systems necessary to grow crops.
▪ Many people in other parts of the world grow crops for their own use.
▪ Its members live in a forest, and every year they take more of it to grow crops.
demand
▪ Soon the demands grew so heavy the photocopier could not cope, and originals began to fly about the system.
▪ As the demand grows, so does the dolphin kill.
▪ And as demand for their meat grows, the breed looks as if it's been saved by its bacon.
▪ And the demand is growing all the time.
▪ According to Johansson, government planners typically assess how energy demand has grown alongside economic growth.
▪ The demands grow ever greater, not least in terms of assorted representative fixtures.
▪ The demand for coal grew and grew.
economy
▪ With the economy growing so quickly, there is a case for a smaller deficit or for a surplus.
▪ Where economies grow, fewer people are poor.
▪ We must make sure that as the economy grows, borrowing slows.
▪ How, then, do we make the economy grow and devise an equitable allocation of its fruits?
▪ The economy may be growing, official figures for April suggest.
▪ That is the way in which they think that they can make the economy grow.
▪ Yes, the pre-1930 economy probably grew much faster than the economy does now.
grass
▪ The grass, grown from seed, just held its own against the weeds.
▪ Weedy thickets and tall grass grew under occasional trees.
▪ Even grass grows so thinly that cattle can't feed properly.
▪ If grass had ever grown there, every blade had been trampled to death long ago.
▪ Torrents of love to make the grass grow, Persephone's moist breath in the rising corn.
▪ Thus, grass grows asexual runners to propagate locally but commits its sexually produced seeds to the wind to travel farther.
▪ The gates are barred, the grass grows long, the paint peels.
▪ After all, this was top-quality grass, grown out of top-quality soil.
percent
▪ Sales in the year to August grew by 19 percent to £131m, while operating profits were up 17 percent at £22.1m.
▪ Bureau of Labor Statistics data show real wages have grown only about 10 percent between 1960 and 1994.
▪ Mr. Mellor United Kingdom exports have grown 23 percent. over the past five years, and reached record levels during 1991.
▪ The economy, once projected to grow about 4 percent this year, is expected to shrink about 2 percent.
▪ Coles' profits have grown only 3 percent in the last three years.
▪ Gross domestic product was estimated to have grown by 8.3 percent during 1989.
▪ Private economists polled by Bloomberg Business News project the economy will grow 1. 9 percent this year.
plant
▪ Another easy plant to grow which does not make special demands.
▪ Sow now, directly in the ground, where the plants are to grow, then thin.
▪ This plant grows abundantly over the whole aquarium and produces fine visual effects with an underwater light source.
▪ The fields flood in winter and in summer dry and starve because every plant grows to the same depth.
▪ Phosphorus is a nutrient used in fertilizer that helps plants grow.
▪ A plant growing from the top of a dry wall.
▪ But in due course the supply of energy will be exhausted and the plant will stop growing or possibly die.
population
▪ Its population has grown by two-thirds since 1970; it now stands at 1.7m.
▪ And as the country got wilder, the population grew thinner and loveliness increased in direct proportion to danger.
▪ As our population grows older, this is an idea whose time has come.
▪ The strategy worked: the population of Bauru grew to its current 300, 000 from 14, 000 in 1908.
▪ Most of them have populations that are growing rapidly.
▪ As population grew, a recipient got more money; cities losing population received less.
rate
▪ The simplest models assume that earnings grow at a constant rate of g percent per year.
▪ M3 grew at an annualized rate of just 1. 9 percent in the first 11 months of 1995.
▪ And it is a problem that is growing at a rate of several thousand tonnes of waste a day.
▪ But businessmen are scared of missing out on an economy that is now growing at tigerish rates.
▪ There was also an admission that the demand for water is not growing at the rate Thames Water had earlier predicted.
▪ Counterfeiting is a multi million pound industry and all the signs are that it's growing at an alarming rate.
▪ It is surprising that London did not industrialize and that the population continued to grow at such a rate.
seed
▪ The grass, grown from seed, just held its own against the weeds.
▪ Political passion does not grow from seeds as dry as these.
▪ If the soil is not right then the seeds will not grow.
▪ The produce is grown from varietal seeds chosen for flavor, not longevity.
▪ With all the new and reintroduced varieties now on the market there has never been a better time to grow from seed.
▪ Unlike hybrid strawberries, these can be grown from seed.
▪ We cut grass with a ride-on mower and dead head if not growing for seed.
tree
▪ A holly tree grew from the place where Scathach had lain.
▪ He found a place where a few trees grew so thick and close to the ground, no moisture could penetrate them.
▪ All varieties of plum, apple, and pear trees, grew in unison.
▪ Wood is scarce in the Sinai desert, but the acacia is one of the few trees which grow there.
▪ There also are successful family trees that grow both vertically and horizontally.
▪ They're better than lamp posts and that, cos trees grow out of the ground, so they're extra special like.
▪ But trees have managed to grow on the banks, and the sandy beds are ideal for horseback riding.
■ VERB
begin
▪ But soon, I began to grow restless.
▪ There was no sign of Gareth and fears began to grow for his safety.
▪ More people began growing cotton and their plantations be-came bigger and bigger.
▪ Ten years on, the economy has finally begun to grow faster than the population.
▪ I reach the top, look down, and begin to grow frightened.
▪ A little reputation outside the parish began to grow - that this was a curate who could talk.
▪ Then the water begins to grow calm again.
continue
▪ Most forecasts suggest that air travel will continue to grow at a little over 5 percent a year.
▪ They spend ever more on job training for welfare recipients, yet welfare rolls continue to grow.
▪ The need for these continues to grow.
▪ In the meantime, Sports Nation continues to grow, adding citizens -- er, members -- and programs.
▪ Expanded considerably, at least in population, during the early Norman periods it continued to grow.
▪ There is every indication that youth apprenticeships will continue to grow in the United States, but at a painfully slow rate.
▪ It's growing it will continue to grow.
▪ Cardoso pledged that inflation will continue to fall and the economy will continue to grow.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
absence makes the heart grow fonder
grow fat on sth
▪ These stock brokers grow fat on other people's money.
▪ Magnus grew fat on brown wholemeal scraps and Gina gave up trying to keep him away.
▪ The bull grew fat on his salary and expense account, but his performance was disappointing to say the least.
▪ They could see themselves growing fat on large-scale construction payrolls.
grow wild
▪ Frangipani grew wild and rampant up a grey cliff of limestone above the south bank.
▪ Often the verges had been left to grow wild and bushy.
▪ The mangoes grew wild on Tioman; no one seemed to claim them as private property.
▪ The plants grow wild along the banks of the rivers and inlets and the grains are harvested from a boat.
▪ The trees grow wild along the riverbanks and are harvested between January and June as the fruits ripen.
▪ They make that from sugar cane, which often grows wild here.
▪ Things we think of as exotic grow wild here, like the mimosa.
▪ Used extensively in local cuisine, the juniper grows wild in the hills around the medieval walled town of Gubbio.
grow/drift apart
▪ I think Dan and Tina just grew apart.
▪ If there is any twosome in a family likely to drift apart, it is a pair of brothers.
▪ Instead, it was suggested the couple, who married in their early 20s, had simply grown up and grown apart.
▪ Jabbing with the point he kept off Alexei's attack until the reaction of their mid-air collision made them drift apart again.
▪ Later in life, Lewis and his father drifted apart, never to be reconciled.
▪ Such barrenness is the inevitable outcome where two people are growing apart and out of love.
▪ We grew up, went off to different places, drifted apart.
▪ Work-inhibited students have not grown apart from their parents and become independent.
grown children/daughter/son
▪ I had two grown daughters, and when I lost the first one, this one became the apple of my eye.
▪ See more of his grown daughter and son.
▪ Seeing photographs of Rubilove Willcox Aiu in newspapers last Sunday was unexpected and bewildering for her grown children.
▪ Tall, slender and divorced, Sheila had-incredibly-two grown sons.
▪ The senator, 72, has a grown daughter by his former wife but is of grandfatherly vintage now.
▪ Yet her husband, laid off from his job as a messenger, and her grown children are unemployed.
grown man/woman
▪ Grown men in three-piece suits were playing video games.
▪ Elsie had never seen a grown man cry before.
▪ He' s a grown man - he should be able to cook for himself!
▪ She's crazy -- a grown woman letting a girl order her around like that.
▪ And the old Porsche 911 which has the same effect, but for very different reasons, on grown men.
▪ I was fourteen, but I guess I looked like a grown woman.
▪ In this story about Shep, he is a grown man and the prosperous owner of a silk mill.
▪ Nearly twenty years ago that was, and now you re a grown woman.
▪ No wonder that many grown women rebel against them.
▪ Not one grown man, aristocrat or peasant, is worthy of respect when you really know him.
▪ Several that I saw were very old, bearded, emaciated and grim and deathlike, instead of babies, grown men.
▪ She was a grown woman, she was entitled to take a bit of comfort as and when she pleased.
not let the grass grow under your feet
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ All this is necessary if we are to grow the business.
▪ Amy grew 6 inches last year.
▪ Are you growing a beard?
▪ As we grow old, we worry more about our health.
▪ Beth has grown quite a bit as an actress.
▪ China's economic output continues to grow at a remarkable annual rate.
▪ Demand for new cars is growing rapidly.
▪ Farmers in this area grow mainly wheat.
▪ Fears are growing for the safety of the missing children.
▪ Fiona was growing tired of being treated in this way.
▪ Her confidence grew, and soon she was able to go out driving on her own.
▪ I'd been waiting for forty minutes and I was beginning to grow uneasy.
▪ It's hard to believe how much the kids have grown.
▪ It's too cold for orchids to grow here.
▪ It's very satisfying growing your own vegetables.
▪ Jamie's grown three inches this year.
▪ Lower prices on inline skates have also contributed to their growing popularity.
▪ Mark's business grew rapidly in the first year.
▪ Our lawn has all kinds of weeds growing in it.
▪ Profits in the military aircraft business grew by 28% to a record $905 million.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ And despite the rickety infrastructure, computer networks are growing fast.
▪ As he grew to manhood, Vologsky had accepted that state of being as both normal and even desirable.
▪ He used to long for his holidays and grow deeply depressed when they drew to an end.
▪ Her household has grown since then.
▪ That staff should grow to 30, he said, and many new employees are likely to be former Polaroid workers.
▪ The most outrageous examples involve force-feeding massive doses of sugar substitutes to white laboratory mice, who eventually grew tumors.
▪ The traditional markets of western equipment companies are growing slowly, if at all.