"grow a pair" meaning in English

See grow a pair in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Forms: grows a pair [present, singular, third-person], growing a pair [participle, present], grew a pair [past], grown a pair [participle, past]
Etymology: Abbreviation of "grow a pair of testicles". Head templates: {{en-verb|grow<,,grew,grown> a pair}} grow a pair (third-person singular simple present grows a pair, present participle growing a pair, simple past grew a pair, past participle grown a pair)
  1. (chiefly US, colloquial, idiomatic, somewhat vulgar) To be brave; to show some courage, especially in a situation in which one has so far failed to do so. Tags: US, colloquial, idiomatic, vulgar Synonyms: grow some balls, get a pair, strap on a pair Related terms: have a pair Translations (Translations): lass dir Eier wachsen (German), lass dir ein Paar Eier wachsen (German)

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_text": "Abbreviation of \"grow a pair of testicles\".",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "grows a pair",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "growing a pair",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "grew a pair",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "grown a pair",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "grow<,,grew,grown> a pair"
      },
      "expansion": "grow a pair (third-person singular simple present grows a pair, present participle growing a pair, simple past grew a pair, past participle grown a pair)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To be brave; to show some courage, especially in a situation in which one has so far failed to do so."
      ],
      "id": "en-grow_a_pair-en-verb-jqzxcscH",
      "links": [
        [
          "brave",
          "brave"
        ],
        [
          "courage",
          "courage"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(chiefly US, colloquial, idiomatic, somewhat vulgar) To be brave; to show some courage, especially in a situation in which one has so far failed to do so."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "have a pair"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "grow some balls"
        },
        {
          "word": "get a pair"
        },
        {
          "word": "strap on a pair"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "colloquial",
        "idiomatic",
        "vulgar"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "lass dir Eier wachsen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "lass dir ein Paar Eier wachsen"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "grow a pair"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "Abbreviation of \"grow a pair of testicles\".",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "grows a pair",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "growing a pair",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "grew a pair",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "grown a pair",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "grow<,,grew,grown> a pair"
      },
      "expansion": "grow a pair (third-person singular simple present grows a pair, present participle growing a pair, simple past grew a pair, past participle grown a pair)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "have a pair"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "English colloquialisms",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English verbs",
        "English vulgarities",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Translation table header lacks gloss"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To be brave; to show some courage, especially in a situation in which one has so far failed to do so."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "brave",
          "brave"
        ],
        [
          "courage",
          "courage"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(chiefly US, colloquial, idiomatic, somewhat vulgar) To be brave; to show some courage, especially in a situation in which one has so far failed to do so."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "colloquial",
        "idiomatic",
        "vulgar"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "grow some balls"
    },
    {
      "word": "get a pair"
    },
    {
      "word": "strap on a pair"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "lass dir Eier wachsen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "lass dir ein Paar Eier wachsen"
    }
  ],
  "word": "grow a pair"
}

Download raw JSONL data for grow a pair meaning in English (1.7kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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