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 of bring up

• raise
• foster

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

That emotional tête-à-tête, as well as Lindsay showing up to support Carl at the opening of Soft Bar, are brought up by Andy during Part 2. —Marlow Stern, Variety, 3 June 2026

The presence of his mom Gabrielle/Sophia (Jennifer Ehle, going a little overboard with the accent) serves as a distraction and brings up some queasy stuff. —Randy Myers, Mercury News, 3 June 2026

Writers have cast their nets into that fertile current and brought up a rich haul of fiction. —Literary Hub, 2 June 2026

We’ve been brought up to trust these people until just recently. —Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 2 June 2026

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