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

Every year, the Alaskan pollock industry brings up around twenty thousand king salmon and around a quarter million pounds of halibut as bycatch. — Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026

Critics also continue to bring up Castro’s 2023 vote to raise commissioner salaries and her 2024 vote to hire Rojas as city manager without a national search, two decisions that have since been overturned by the current commission. — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026

Mo, who arrived by chance among the pirates as an infant, has been brought up by the ship’s kindly captain, Claas. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 22 Oct. 2026

When people have brought up arguments about her interpretation, there’s the larger question, What is an adaptation? — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 21 Oct. 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