growing pains

plural noun

Definition of growing pains

1 : pains in the legs of growing children having no demonstrable relation to growth
2 : the stresses and strains attending a new project or development

Examples of growing pains in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Michigan's betting that none of the growing pains will matter. Orion Sang, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan football outlook 2019: More points needed. Now.," 25 Aug. 2019 Even Flagler Village in Fort Lauderdale, a trendy nightlife village branding itself the next Wynwood, is not immune to the growing pains and cycles of restaurant life. Phillip Valys, sun-sentinel.com, "Flagler Village: New bars, restaurants invade funky Fort Lauderdale village," 23 Aug. 2019 After experiencing some growing pains in 2018, the Crimson Tide’s secondary should be a strength, with four starters returning. Edgar Thompson, orlandosentinel.com, "2019 College Football Countdown: No. 1 Alabama expected to return to top after loss," 22 Aug. 2019 The appealing characters fight bad guys hiding in the town’s brand-new mall, squabble but eventually make up, chase monsters and suffer some growing pains of adolescence. oregonlive.com, "Summer TV 2019 winners and losers: ‘Succession,’ ‘Stranger Things,’ ‘Instinct,’ and more," 22 Aug. 2019 With 14 starters and 35 lettermen returning, expect to see a better version of the Rangers after last year’s growing pains. Terrence Thomas, ExpressNews.com, "What are the six biggest stories going into high school football season?," 22 Aug. 2019 With four sophomores and freshman setter Makena Ray in the mix, second-year coach Alejandro De Mendoza can expect a few growing pains. Matt Szabo, Daily Pilot, "Estancia girls’ volleyball swept by Bolsa Grande," 20 Aug. 2019 The defense is filled with sophomores — most notably linebacker Merlin Robertson — who played through growing pains last year and could be a lot better in Year 2 under Herm Edwards. Ralph D. Russo, The Denver Post, "Minnesota, Baylor among college football’s dark horse league contenders," 18 Aug. 2019 Like all kids navigating adolescence, OWN’s new series David Makes Man has growing pains. Emily Todd Vanderwerff, Vox, "Good Boys is a very funny reminder of how great it is to not be a tween anymore," 16 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'growing pains.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of growing pains

1810, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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More Definitions for growing pains

growing pains

noun

English Language Learners Definition of growing pains

: pains in the legs of children who are growing
: the problems that are experienced as something (such as a business or a project) grows larger or more successful

growing pains

noun plural

Kids Definition of growing pains

: pains that occur in the legs of growing children but have not been proven to be caused by growth

growing pains

noun plural
grow·​ing pains | \ ˈgrō-iŋ-ˌpānz How to pronounce growing pains (audio) \

Medical Definition of growing pains

: pains occurring in the legs of growing children having no demonstrable relation to growth