grow on

English

Pronunciation

Audio (General Australian): (file)

Verb

grow on (third-person singular simple present grows on, present participle growing on, simple past grew on, past participle grown on)

(idiomatic, transitive) To become more likeable to someone.
I didn't like this song at first, but now it's starting to grow on me.
- 2015, Jenny Elliott, Save Me, Macmillan, →ISBN, page 82:
  Blinking and swallowing, she checked her list of questions. “What are some of your favorite outdoor and indoor activities?” “Well, whale watching is growing on me.”
(transitive) To gradually become more evident to someone.
- 1902, Bram Stoker, chapter XVIII, in The Mystery of the Sea:
  "I can tell you now, Sam. […] When you left me last night, the whole deadly seriousness of the matter grew on me, till I was as miserable as a man can be." His face lightened as I spoke.
- 2014, “Hunger of the Pine”, in This Is All Yours, performed by alt-J:
  Realisation grew on me / As quickly as it takes your hand