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

It's also forecast to bring up to a 13-foot storm surge, topped by large battering waves, on the south coast of Jamaica, and a surge almost as high where it's forecast to strike the southeastern coast of Cuba, the hurricane center said. —Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025

Melissa is expected to hit Cuba as a Category 4, making landfall early Wednesday morning and bringing up to 25 inches of rain, as well as 7 to 11 feet of storm surge. —Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2025

Meanwhile, California is slated to bring up redistricting in next week’s special election that allows voters to decide whether the state’s map gets redrawn. —David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 27 Oct. 2025

Grant was shocked when Nora’s father brought up meeting his daughter. —Essence, 27 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