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

During the draft process, his behavior was brought up by Cowboys officials. —Sportsday Staff, Dallas Morning News, 3 Feb. 2026

Can someone bring up a purse that was left downstairs? —Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 3 Feb. 2026

Brito is the name scouts and execs with other teams bring up as the most exciting not-famous prospect in this system. —Keith Law, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026

Collins also addressed other areas of concern the council has brought up, from why the city needs another fueling station to the willingness to install electric charging stations. —Shelley Jones, Chicago Tribune, 1 Feb. 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