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

People like to bring up certain moments in that movie, certain lines. —Clayton Davis, Variety, 3 Oct. 2025

Young job seekers told CNBC that the difficulty of finding a job has brought up feelings of social isolation and self-doubt. —Alex Harring, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2025

While the kids’ aunt Alex made occasional appearances in the first season, her character was brought up frequently. —Julia MacCary, PEOPLE, 2 Oct. 2025

Growing up always brings up bittersweet feelings. —María Mérida, Glamour, 2 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