grow, grow the economy

The verb grow is typically intransitive because it describes a process undergone by the subject. Thus:

The business grew rapidly.

When used as a transitive verb, grow traditionally meant “to grow crops or to grow a beard.”

These days, however, some people have converted grow into a transitive verb. Thus we see:

Our policies will grow the economy.

This usage originated in Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign. Since then, most politicians and many members of the media use the expression.

Personally, I prefer to restrict the transitive definition of grow to beans and beards, and we urge you to do the same.

Example: The farmer’s business grew rapidly when he decided to grow barley.