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

But writers in the popular press struggled to avoid bringing up alien invasion. — Danny Robb, JSTOR Daily, 30 July 2026

Brave New World all made under $300 million domestically by the end of their theatrical runs, with Thunderbolts* bringing up the rear with $190 million. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 30 July 2026

The company needs to be brought up to snuff, a mammoth registration statement laying all the intimate details of the business needs to be prepared and the questions of many, many would-be investors need to be answered. — Evan Clark, Footwear News, 30 July 2026

The facility is also expected to bring up to 20 jobs to the community. — Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 30 July 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