Growth Vocabulary: Collocations, Idioms, and Activities

Level: B2. Reading at B2. The word lists range from B1 to C1 on purpose; frequency scores show which words are common.

Printable: Student activity handout (PDF) | Teacher’s key (PDF)

Growth: More Than Getting Bigger

Growth is one of the first ideas we learn as children and one of the last we stop needing as adults. We measure children against door frames and watch plants push through the soil, but people keep growing in quieter ways all their lives. Learning a new skill, becoming more patient, or finding the courage to try something unfamiliar gives life a sense of direction, and that feeling matters for our well-being.

Growth rarely follows a schedule. A teenager may shoot up in a single summer, while a skill can grow steadily for months before anyone notices. Some growth is uncomfortable: we have growing pains, we learn to grow a thick skin, and we outgrow habits or even friendships. Other growth is slow and quiet. A new city grows on us, we put down roots, and one day our efforts finally bear fruit.

This page explores the idea of growth and the language we use to talk about it. You will find word forms, common collocations, expressions from planting seeds to bearing fruit, synonyms and antonyms, interactive activities, discussion questions, and a practice text for shadow reading and typing.

Word Family

Common mistakes

Growth is usually uncountable. Say economic growth or a lot of growth, not economic growths. A growth by itself usually means a lump on the body, so avoid it for general change.
Plants are grown; children are raised. Say She grows tomatoes and She raised two children (or brought up). Children themselves grow up: I grew up in a small town, not I was grown in a small town.
Grow + adjective means become. Use an adjective, not an adverb: grow tired, grow old, grow louder. There is no grow interest; say grow interested in or develop an interest in.
Growth in, growth of. Growth in sales names what is measured. The growth of the city names the thing that grows. An amount takes of (growth of 5 percent), but the verb takes by (sales grew by 5 percent).
Grow can take an object, but not for numbers. You can grow herbs, grow a beard, or grow a business. For prices and rates, use increase or raise: increase prices, not grow prices.

Collocations

Collocations are words that often go together. For a longer list, see growth on OZDIC, a free collocation dictionary.

How things grow

grow exponentially (formal; often used loosely to mean very fast): to increase faster and faster as the amount gets bigger.
The number of users grew exponentially in the first year.
Translations: 呈指数增长 | 指数関数的に増える | 기하급수적으로 증가하다 | चरघातांकी रूप से बढ़ना | ينمو بشكل أسي | расти экспоненциально | crecer exponencialmente | croître de façon exponentielle

Grow + adjective (become)

In these phrases, grow means to become, slowly.

Adjective + growth

Growth + noun

Kinds of growth

Preposition Patterns

These patterns combine grow with a particle (grow up, grow apart) or growth with a preposition (growth in).

Expressions: From Seeds to Fruit

These idioms and phrases follow the life of growth: planting seeds, growing fast, growing up, bearing fruit, and the limits where growth stops.

Planting seeds

How growth begins

Great oaks from little acorns grow: big things often start from very small beginnings (a proverb).
Her business began on a kitchen table. Great oaks from little acorns grow.
Translations: 合抱之木,生于毫末 | 大樹もどんぐりから | 큰 나무도 작은 도토리에서 자란다 | छोटे बीज से विशाल वृक्ष उगता है | من البذرة الصغيرة تنمو الشجرة الكبيرة | из маленького жёлудя вырастает могучий дуб | de pequeñas bellotas crecen grandes robles | de petits glands naissent de grands chênes

Growing fast

When growth is quick

Growing up

Becoming a mature person

Bearing fruit

Results and new directions

Limits and decline

When growth slows or stops

Synonyms and Antonyms

No synonym means exactly the same as grow. The notes explain how each one differs.

Synonyms

thrive (verb): to grow strongly and be healthy or successful.
Stronger than grow: it says the growth is vigorous and the conditions are good. Plants, businesses, and people can all thrive.
Frequency: 3.73 | Rank: 10,680
Herbs thrive on a sunny windowsill.
Translations: 茁壮成长, 兴旺 | 繁栄する, 元気に育つ | 번성하다, 잘 자라다 | फलना-फूलना | يزدهر | хорошо расти, процветать | prosperar | s’épanouir, prospérer

Antonyms

decline (verb and noun): to become smaller, weaker, or worse over time.
The opposite of growth for numbers and quality. As a noun, a decline in sales is the opposite of growth in sales.
Frequency: 4.40 | Rank: 3,612
Bookstore sales declined as more people shopped online.
Translations: 下降, 衰退 | 減少する, 衰退する | 감소하다, 쇠퇴하다 | घटना, गिरावट आना | يتراجع | снижаться, приходить в упадок | disminuir, declinar | décliner, diminuer

Activity Page

Five activities: Expressions, Collocations, Growing or Not, Error Correction, and Fill in the Blank. Open the activity page in a new tab

Speed Challenge

Answer 12 questions against the clock. Every wrong answer adds 5 seconds, and the lowest score wins. Open the speed challenge in a new tab.

Shadow Reading and Typing: A Few Years of Growing

This short story uses many of the expressions on this page. Use it for shadow reading (reading aloud along with a model) and for typing practice.

When I was fourteen, I had a huge growth spurt. I shot up so fast that I outgrew my shoes every few months. My mother said I was growing like a weed. She also liked to say that money doesn’t grow on trees, so I wore my older brother’s old jackets. I never complained, but I did grow tired of them.

After university, I moved to a new city for my first real job. It was hard at first, and I had a lot of growing pains. My boss was strict, and I made many mistakes. Slowly, I learned to grow a thick skin. By the end of the year, I had grown into the role, and I was growing stronger every month.

Not everything changed at the same speed. My oldest friend and I grew apart, because we lived in different cities. It was sad, but we never argued. At the same time, my new neighborhood began to grow on me. I decided to put down roots. I joined a running club, and I started to grow my own herbs on the balcony.

Now I see personal growth differently. I used to want fast results, but real growth is usually slow and steady. Last month, I decided to branch out and join a pottery class. I am terrible at it so far, but I do not mind. Maybe I am a late bloomer. I hope that, in time, my efforts will bear fruit.

How to practice

Read the text silently once and check any expressions you are unsure of.
Read it aloud slowly, one sentence at a time. On the typing page, the Listen button reads each line with your device’s voice, so you can listen first and then repeat.
Shadow: read aloud again at a natural speed, trying to keep a steady rhythm without stopping.
Record yourself, listen back, and note one sentence to practice again.
Type it on the typing page below and check your speed and accuracy.

Open the typing practice in a new tab

Quotations

Use these as warm-ups. Read the quotation, then discuss the question.

“The tree which fills the arms grew from the tiniest sprout.”

Laozi, Tao Te Ching, chapter 64, translated by James Legge (1891)

Big growth starts small. The chapter goes on to compare it to a tower built from a heap of earth and a long journey that begins with one step.
Warm-up: What is one big thing in your life that started very small?
Translations: 合抱之木,生于毫末。 | ひと抱えもある大木も、ほんの小さな芽から育った。 | 아름드리나무도 아주 작은 싹에서 자랐다. | जिस पेड़ को दोनों बाँहों में समेटना मुश्किल हो, वह भी नन्हे अंकुर से ही उगा है। | الشجرة التي تملأ الذراعين نمت من أصغر برعم. | Дерево в обхват выросло из тончайшего ростка. | El árbol que apenas abarcan los brazos creció de un brote diminuto. | L’arbre qu’on peine à entourer de ses bras est né d’une toute petite pousse.

“What does not kill me makes me stronger.”

Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols (1888), “Maxims and Arrows,” number 8, in English translation

Nietzsche presents hardship as a way to become stronger. It is a general maxim, not a rule: not every difficulty makes a person stronger.
Warm-up: Describe a difficult experience that helped you grow. What did you learn from it?
Translations: 凡是杀不死我的,都会使我更强大。 | 私を殺さないものは、私をより強くする。 | 나를 죽이지 못하는 것은 나를 더 강하게 만든다. | जो मुझे मार नहीं डालता, वह मुझे और मज़बूत बनाता है। | ما لا يقتلني يجعلني أقوى. | Что не убивает меня, делает меня сильнее. | Lo que no me mata me hace más fuerte. | Ce qui ne me tue pas me rend plus fort.

Discussion Questions

Your own growth

In what ways have you changed or grown in the last few years?
What experience has helped you grow the most?
Do you think people can really change, or do they mostly stay the same? Why?
Which matters more to you: personal growth or comfort? Why?
What role do mistakes play in growing as a person?
Do you think travel or living abroad helps people grow? Why or why not?
Is there a skill you would like to develop over the next five years? How will you do it?
Can a person grow without ever feeling uncomfortable? Explain.
Who has helped you grow the most, and what did they do?
Have you ever outgrown a hobby, a place, or a friendship? How did it feel?
How can a person tell when they are growing? What are the signs?
Does growth have to be fast and visible to count? Why or why not?

Using the language of growth

Describe a time when you grew into a role or responsibility that felt too big at first.
Have you ever had growing pains while learning something new, or starting a new job or school? What happened?
Which habit or fear have you grown out of? What changed?
Do you remember a growth spurt in your own life, physical or personal? What was it like?
Is there something you disliked at first that grew on you? What was it?
Have you ever grown apart from a close friend? What do you think caused it?
Do you think it is important to grow a thick skin? When can that be a bad thing?
Where would you like to put down roots, and what makes that place right for you?
Have you ever branched out and tried something completely new? How did it go?
Describe an effort that bore fruit after a long time. What kept you going?
Do you agree that great oaks from little acorns grow? Give an example of a small beginning that led to something big.
Do you think some people are late bloomers? Is it ever too late to start something new?
Did your parents or teachers ever tell you that money doesn’t grow on trees? What did you learn about money as a child?
When is it right to nip a problem in the bud, and when is it better to let things develop?

AI Practice Prompt

Copy this prompt into an AI chat tool to practice.

I am a B2 English learner studying the word “growth” and related expressions. Ask me one question at a time. Mix multiple-choice, true or false, and short sentence-writing tasks. Use these words and phrases: grow, growth, growing, grown-up, grow up, grow into, grow out of, grow apart, grow on, grow tired of, grow accustomed to, growth rate, growth spurt, personal growth, sustainable growth, growth mindset, growing pains, grow like a weed, grow a thick skin, put down roots, bear fruit, branch out, late bloomer, nip in the bud, thrive, stagnate. If I make a mistake, explain it briefly in [your language] and give a correct example in English. After ten questions, tell me which items I should review.

Online Resources

Tao Te Ching, chapter 64 (Legge translation) (Sacred Texts). The full chapter behind the quotation about the tree that grew from a tiny sprout. It also contains the saying about a journey of a thousand miles.
Twilight of the Idols (Dominican House of Studies, PhilTexts). An English text of the book. The “Maxims and Arrows” section near the start contains the line about becoming stronger (number 8).
Are growth mind-sets important to academic achievement? Two meta-analyses (Psychological Science, 2018). The abstract of a large research review on growth mindset in schools. Advanced reading: it reports that the overall effects were weak.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step (Wikipedia). Background on the saying from the same Tao Te Ching chapter, with the Chinese text and several English translations.