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

• 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

The deck team is already on edge, not just from their usual frazzled state but from bringing up the tender with the crane while the guests had dinner. —Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2025

Additional safety precautions for residents due to more people driving through Old Louisville because of detours was also brought up during the meeting. —Lillian Metzmeier, Louisville Courier Journal, 21 Oct. 2025

Brian Kelly has started hearing his name brought up as a potential hot seat candidate. —Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025

This isn’t the first time Noa has brought up his ex with a sob story. —Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 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