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

While chatting on the phone, McCartney brought up their ongoing tiff. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2026

Remembering Rogers this week, several people brought up butterflies. — Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 1 Oct. 2026

After Nick Allen failed to get a bunt down and struck out, Jeremy Peña singled Smith to second to bring up Yordan Alvarez for his biggest at-bat of the series. — Greg Rajan, Houston Chronicle, 30 Sep. 2026

Speakers throughout the day brought up the state of Nebraska’s partnership with the federal government. — Brittany Trang, STAT, 29 Sep. 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