bring up

verb

brought up; bringing up; brings up

transitive verb

1

: to bring (a person) to maturity through nurturing care and education

2

: to cause to stop suddenly

3

a

: to bring to attention : introduce

b

computers : to cause (something, such as a file or picture) to appear on a computer screen

… you can make any picture that it displays into wallpaper by right-clicking with the arrow over the art to bring up a box with a "Set as wallpaper" choice.

—Barry Popik

4

: vomit

intransitive verb

: to stop suddenly

Synonyms

• breed
• foster
• nourish
• nurse
• raise
• rear

Examples of bring up in a Sentence

it takes an immense commitment and a lot of love to bring up a child properly

I hate to bring this up, but we're running short of money.

Recent Examples on the Web

In the interview, Bannon brought up the budget cuts that tech billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is making on Trump's behalf. —Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 15 Feb. 2025

Ruffalo's Bruce, for instance, never brought up the events of that film or his character's love interest, Betty. —Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025

Which brings up why no one has pitched a film idea based on the life of Dax to Hollywood producers. —Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 14 Feb. 2025

Zelenskyy first brought up the idea to Trump last fall, when Trump was a presidential candidate. —Joanna Kakissis, NPR, 14 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for bring up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Kids Definition

bring up

verb

1

: to bring to maturity through care and education

bring up a child

2

: to bring to attention : introduce

I hate to keep bringing this up

Medical Definition

bring up

transitive verb

(ˈ)briŋ-ˈəp 

: vomit