Bring up meaning
Bring up means to start talking about a subject. It can also mean to look after a child until they are an adult.
bring something up
bring up · brought · bringing
Don’t bring up money at Grandma’s birthday dinner.
Bring up meanings and examples
4 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Start talking about a subject
bring something up
- Don’t bring up money at Grandma’s birthday dinner.
- I’ll bring it up at the next team meeting.
- Why did you bring up my ex in front of everyone?
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2
Look after a child until they are an adult
bring somebody up
- She was brought up by her grandparents in Lisbon.
- Her aunt brought her up after her parents died.
- It isn’t easy to bring up a child on your own.
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3
Make something appear on a screen
bring something up
- Can you bring up the map on the big screen?
- Click here to bring up the menu.
- I have your booking here. Let me bring it up.
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4
Be sick, bringing food back out of your mouth
bring something up
- The baby brought up some of her milk.
- He felt ill and brought up his lunch.
- If the dog brings it up, call the vet.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use bring up in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is bring up separable?
Bring up is separable: bring up the subject or bring the subject up. With a pronoun, the pronoun goes in the middle: bring it up, not bring up it.
For childhood it is very often passive: I was brought up in Leeds. Raised means the same, and US English uses it more.
Verb tenses for bring up
| Present | I bring up · she brings up |
|---|---|
| Past | brought up |
| Present perfect | have brought up |
| -ing form | bringing up |
Common mistakes with bring up
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: I didn’t want to bring up it at dinner.
Right: I didn’t want to bring it up at dinner.
A pronoun goes between bring and up.
Wrong: I was brung up in a small village.
Right: I was brought up in a small village.
The past participle of bring is brought.
Wrong: My parents grew me up in Madrid.
Right: My parents brought me up in Madrid.
Grow up has no object; parents bring up or raise children.
Synonyms and opposites of bring up
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- mentionsay something quickly; bring up starts a real discussion
- raisemeans both mention a topic and look after a child
- grow upwhat the child does; bring up is what the parents do
Opposite
- drop the subjectstop talking about something
- avoid the topicchoose not to talk about something
Bring up quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1I didn’t want to ___ the problem while everyone was having fun.
Bring up a problem means start to talk about it.
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2Choose the right sentence.
Use be brought up by; grow up cannot be passive.
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3“Please bring up the sales figures.” The speaker is at a computer. What does she want?
Bring something up on a screen means make it appear.
More phrasal verbs with bring
All phrasal verbs with bring, by level, with an exercise
7 phrasal verbs start with bring. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
- bring backB1return with something, or take something back to where it was
- bring aboutC1make something happen, usually a change
- bring inB2start using a new law, rule or system
- bring downB2make something lower, like prices, costs or a temperature
- bring outB2make a new product, book or album available to buy
- bring togetherB2make people meet, work together or feel closer
Bring up FAQ
Questions people ask about bring up.
What is the difference between bring up and grow up?
Parents bring up children. Children grow up. So: My parents brought me up in Oslo, and I grew up in Oslo.
What is the difference between bring up and raise?
For children they mean the same: brought up is more common in the UK, raised in the US. For topics, raise sounds a little more formal.
What does bring up mean in a meeting?
It means introduce a point for people to discuss: Can I bring up the holiday schedule?
Use bring up in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.