bring
Americanverb (used with object)
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brings,
present (3rd person singular)
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brought,
past participle, past
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bringing
present participle
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to carry, convey, conduct, or cause (someone or something) to come with, to, or toward the speaker.
Bring the suitcase to my house.
He brought his brother to my office.
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to cause to come to or toward oneself; attract.
Her scream brought the police.
He brought honor to his family by his heroism.
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to cause to occur or exist.
The medication brought instant relief.
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to cause to come into a particular position, state, or effect.
to bring the car to a stop.
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to cause to appear or occur in the mind; evoke or recall.
The letter brought her memories of youth.
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to persuade, convince, compel, or induce.
She couldn't bring herself to sell the painting.
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to sell for; fetch.
These lamps will bring a good price.
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Law. to commence.
to bring an action for damages.
verb phrase
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bring off to accomplish, carry out, or achieve (something).
He brought off his speech with ease.
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bring forward
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to bring to view; show.
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to present for consideration; adduce.
to bring forward an opinion.
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bring down
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to injure, capture, or kill.
He brought down several ducks on his last hunting trip.
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to lessen; reduce.
I won't buy that lamp unless they bring down the price.
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Slang. to cause to be in low spirits; depress.
The bad news brought him down.
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bring up
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to care for during childhood; rear.
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to introduce or mention for attention, discussion, action, or consideration.
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to vomit.
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to stop or cause to stop quickly.
to bring up a car at the curb.
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Nautical. (of a vessel) to cause to halt, as by lowering an anchor or running aground; fetch up.
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bring forth
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to give birth to; deliver; bear.
to bring forth a son.
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to give rise to; introduce.
to bring forth a proposal for reducing costs.
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bring to
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to bring back to consciousness; revive.
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Nautical. to head (a vessel) close to or into the wind so as to halt.
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bring on
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to cause to happen or exist; bring about.
This incident will surely bring on a crisis.
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to introduce; cause to appear.
Bring on the clowns.
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bring in
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to yield, as profits or income.
My part-time job doesn't bring in much, but I enjoy it.
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to present officially; submit.
The jury brought in its verdict.
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to cause to operate or yield.
They brought in a gusher on his property.
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to present for consideration, approval, etc.; introduce.
She brought in six new members last month.
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bring out
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to expose; reveal.
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to make noticeable or conspicuous in a contrast.
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to publish, as a book or play.
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to introduce officially into society.
to bring out a debutante.
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bring about to accomplish; cause.
Land reform brought about a great change in the lives of the common people.
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bring around / round
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to convince of a belief or opinion; persuade.
I think we can bring him around to agreeing with the plan.
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to restore to consciousness, as after a faint.
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to bring as a visitor.
They brought around a new employee this morning.
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verb
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to carry, convey, or take (something or someone) to a designated place or person
bring that book to me
will you bring Jessica to Tom's party?
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to cause to happen or occur to (oneself or another)
to bring disrespect on oneself
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to cause to happen as a consequence
responsibility brings maturity
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to cause to come to mind
it brought back memories
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to cause to be in a certain state, position, etc
the punch brought him to his knees
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to force, persuade, or make (oneself)
I couldn't bring myself to do it
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to sell for; fetch
the painting brought 20 pounds
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law
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to institute (proceedings, charges, etc)
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to put (evidence, etc) before a tribunal
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to give birth to
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to convince of
his account brought home to us the gravity of the situation
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to place the blame on
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See bear 1
Synonym Usage
Bring, fetch, take imply conveying or conducting in relation to the place where the speaker is. To bring is simply to convey or conduct: Bring it to me. I'm permitted to bring my dog here with me. It is the opposite of take, which means to convey or conduct away from the place where the speaker is: Bring it back here. Take it back there. Fetch means to go, get, and bring back: Fetch me that bottle.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bringsimple
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bringssimple
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have broughtperfect
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has broughtperfect
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am bringingprogressive
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are bringingprogressive
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is bringingprogressive
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have been bringingperfect progressive
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has been bringingperfect progressive
Past
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broughtsimple
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had broughtperfect
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was bringingprogressive
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were bringingprogressive
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had been bringingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bring
First recorded before 950; Middle English bringen, Old English bringan; cognate with Dutch brengen, German bringen, Gothic briggan
Explanation
To bring something is to carry or convey it somewhere. A trained dog will bring back a stick. The verb bring "carries" the idea of conveying something. You might ask a friend to bring you to school, and you might bring your friend cookies as a thank you. You could bring a legal suit against someone, or bring yourself to do something unpleasant. Good fortune might bring you happiness, while a hunter might bring down their prey with one shot. The number seven is supposed to bring good luck. The slang expression “bring it” means to do your best.
Vocabulary lists containing bring
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:
Lih said he expects the company will bring in $70 million in revenue globally this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
The threat of a strong El Niño has cities racing to do what they can to prepare for even stronger storms that could bring further coastal damage and flooding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Burnham insisted he would "bring the welfare budget down" by tackling the number of young people not in education, employment or training.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
It is predicted to bring record heat to 2027, but could also help make 2026 the hottest year on record, surpassing 2024.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
“You go that way with the girls, I’ll take Blitz and the twins this way. Whoever gets out of here can bring some adults back for the others.”
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Chief Economics Commentator Greg Ip brings you the insights, news and commentary you need, in five minutes or less.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Men also stare when Rosales brings her partner to these industrial spaces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Liam is equally complimentary about his older partner, saying he brings a lot of experience to the court.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
So the Caesar-ish dressing here is intentionally concentrated: cream cheese for body, Kewpie for tang and richness, and a dab of white miso for the salty, fermented funk that anchovy ordinarily brings to Caesar.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
The simple kindness brings tears to the corners of my eyes.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Experts say the heat will feel even worse due to higher-than-normal humidity brought by the remnants of former-Tropical Storm Marie and warm temperatures coming from the ocean.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Started in 2019, Drag Race UK brought British drag into mainstream entertainment in the UK, and has made household names of drag performers such as La Voix, Danny Beard, and Tia Kofi.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Hawaii was also exceptionally wet: Hurricane Lala brought heavy rainfall contributing to its second-wettest August on record.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
But the feeling that America brought the attack on itself pervaded Europe’s political class and commentariat—with honorable exceptions, including Tony Blair, the U.K.’s prime minister, who forever earned my gratitude.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
The food we had brought with us from the farm lasted as long as we could make it, but in the end of course there was none left.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently praised Ford’s investments for bringing thousands of jobs back to America, while the White House recently touted the automaker’s battery plant investment that Duffy had singled out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
"We are synchronizing efforts to protect our hemisphere from transnational and regional threats by bringing Peru, now a major non-NATO ally, into the Shield of the Americas," Rubio said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
"By bringing together local knowledge, citizen science, social media, scientific monitoring and regional expertise, we can build a much clearer picture of where species occur and where conservation effort is most urgently needed."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026
Her daughter has obviously inherited Heder’s deep well of empathy, one that is more concerned with bringing new, unseen stories to the screen than with the pursuit of cool points or pure fame.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
“Probably Israel was just being nice,” Bat interjected, “to make you feel better about bringing cream cheese sandwiches to school every day. He probably didn’t really want your sandwich.”
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. 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.
