grownup
grownup Lexical Profile
grownup Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Fully developed and physically mature; having reached adulthood.
"Their two grownup children now live in different cities and have careers of their own."
Characteristic of, suitable for, or behaving like a sensible, responsible adult rather than a child.
"Negotiating a peaceful compromise was a very grownup way to handle the disagreement."
• noun
A physically mature person; an adult (used especially by or in relation to children).
"The children sat at the small table in the kitchen while the grownups talked in the dining room."
Word Nuance & Usage
Often spelled with a hyphen as 'grown-up' (especially in British English and as an attributive adjective), whereas the closed form 'grownup' is particularly common as a noun in American English. Distinguish from the two-word verb phrase 'grown up' (as in 'she has grown up').