outgrow
Base form
outgrow
/ˌaʊtˈɡrəʊ/
Past simple
outgrew
/ˌaʊtˈɡruː/
Past participle
outgrown
/ˌaʊtˈɡrəʊn/
MeaningC1
to grow too big for something; to lose interest in it as you get older
to outgrow your clothes
In use
- After a modal verb · Form 1Children can outgrow a pair of shoes in a few months.
- Question · Form 1Will he ever outgrow his fear of the dark?
- Past simple · Form 2Last year my son outgrew all his winter clothes.
- Past simple · Form 2In 2015 the company outgrew its tiny office.
- Present perfect · Form 3Emma has outgrown her bike already.
- Past perfect · Form 3By sixteen she had outgrown her love of pop music.
Watch out
Outgrew in the past, outgrown after have, as with grew, grown. Outgrowed and outgrewn are wrong.
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