Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

bring up

British  

verb

  1. to care for and train (a child); rear

    we had been brought up to go to church

  2. to raise (a subject) for discussion; mention

  3. to vomit (food)

  4. (foll by against) to cause (a person) to face or confront

  5. (foll by to) to cause (something) to be of a required standard

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

bring up Idioms  
  1. Raise from childhood, rear. For example, Bringing up children is both difficult and rewarding . [Late 1400s]

  2. Introduce into discussion, mention, as in Let's not bring up the cost right now . [Second half of 1800s]

  3. Vomit, as in She still felt sick but couldn't bring up anything . This usage was first recorded in Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719).


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.

See Examples For:

And, wouldn’t you know it, Gradilla planned to bring up that very subject with his students this week — he didn’t even know about Hilton’s attacks against Becerra until I told him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

“When you bring up children, so much of your energy is reacting to ‘Oh, he’s sick.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Jamelle Bouie: I would bring up some other examples, too.

From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026

Soho: 'People live here and bring up families here'

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Even if she couldn’t mention Wash, there were other reasons for not wanting to marry Henry, things she could bring up to buy some time, at least, while she and Wash figured out a plan.

From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word


Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training