growing pains
plural noun
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
While much has been made of the commercial success of the WNBA and NWSL, both leagues are also experiencing growing pains that reflect their new statuses.
—
Scott Soshnick, Sportico.com, 18 Sep. 2025
More recently, Microsoft and OpenAI have been experiencing growing pains as OpenAI looks to break free of its benefactor and become a public company.
—Paulina Likos, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2025
The government may eventually recognize the need to reinvest in cybersecurity and talent, but only after a period of growing pains.
—Austin Berglas, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
As CalMatters reported last year and earlier this year, those include poor customer service, payment delays and slow response times, which the plan attributed to growing pains.
—Calmatters, Oc Register, 16 Sep. 2025
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Scott Soshnick, Sportico.com, 18 Sep. 2025
More recently, Microsoft and OpenAI have been experiencing growing pains as OpenAI looks to break free of its benefactor and become a public company.
—Paulina Likos, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2025
The government may eventually recognize the need to reinvest in cybersecurity and talent, but only after a period of growing pains.
—Austin Berglas, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
As CalMatters reported last year and earlier this year, those include poor customer service, payment delays and slow response times, which the plan attributed to growing pains.
—Calmatters, Oc Register, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for growing pains
Cite this Entry
“Growing pains.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/growing%20pains. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
growing pains
noun plural
grow·ing pains
ˈgrō-iŋ-ˌpānz 
: pains occurring in the legs of growing children having no demonstrable relation to growth
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