upbringing
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of upbringing
First recorded in 1475–85; gerund of upbring “to rear children” (obsolete since the 16th century)
Explanation
Your upbringing is how you were raised as a child. You might have had a rough upbringing or a gentler one, but at least you made it this far. Looking at the base “bring” in upbringing, we find a Germanic origin meaning "to carry." You might consider the "carry" idea as a way to remember the word, considering a parent "carries" a child to adulthood, providing what then becomes the child’s upbringing.
Vocabulary lists containing upbringing
"Marriage is a Private Affair" by Chinua Achebe
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "U"
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Elijah of Buxton
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Upbringing: Miyasaki grew up in Sugar City, Idaho, a town of less than 1,500.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 15, 2016
Upbringing, environment and experience also play a part.
From Economist • Jan. 23, 2014
Religious Upbringing The woman, the youngest of five children, was raised in a deeply religious household, according to Mamoudou and another brother, Mamadou, who is in his early 50s.
From New York Times • Jun. 14, 2011
Upbringing: The name Mend�s-France, according to some who bear it, goes back to about 1300 when their forebears were driven from Portugal because they were Jews.
From Time Magazine Archive
Upbringing, habit, environment were too much for her, and spontaneity was checked.
From The Price of Love by Bennett, Arnold
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
