Other forms: outgrown, outgrew, outgrowing, outgrows
To outgrow is to become too big for something. Outgrow his shoes, outgrown the house, outgrow a phase.
It covers clothes, premises and habits with the same word, and the last is the interesting one — outgrowing a fear or a taste means leaving it behind by developing rather than by deciding. Children outgrow shoes about every few months while growing. Note the out- prefix meaning surpassing.
1verboutgrowTo become too big for something.
“The company soon outgrew its tiny office and moved to a bigger building.”
outgrow is a growing beyond.
Proto-Indo-European
*gʰreh₁- — to grow, become green
Proto-Germanic
*grōaną — to grow, grow green
Proto-West Germanic
*grōan
Old English
grōwan — to grow, increase, flourish, germinate
Middle English
growen
English
grow
English, today
outgrow
From out- + grow. grow comes from Middle English growen, from Old English grōwan (“to grow, increase, flourish, germinate”), from Proto-West Germanic grōan, from Proto-Germanic grōaną (“to grow, grow green”), from Proto-Indo-European gʰreh₁- (“to grow, become green”). 2 Cognate with Dutch groeien (“to grow”), German Low German grojen (“to green; thrive; take hold; flourish”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish gro (“to grow”), Faroese grógva (“to grow”), Icelandic gróa (“to grow”); also Latin grāmen (“grass, turf; herb, plant”), herba (“grass, herbage; weeds; plant”), Ukrainian гря́ний (“green”). Related to growth, grass, green.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA