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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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.
See Examples For:
Kent is grateful for the upbringing and support his parents gave him while also teaching him how to be a husband, father and now grandfather.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
In spite of the characters’ separate upbringing, Miyamoto still wanted to convey their bond in her vocal performance.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
“Maybe we made some mistakes,” Mr. McElwee admits, a bit reluctantly, to his son in reference to his upbringing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
You can lead by example and show how you are not defined by your upbringing, disability or finances.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
To quote section thirty-two, line forty-five of the document you both signed, ‘Once a child has been told about his whatnot upbringing, no further contact with the whatnots he was raised with shall be allowed.’
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Their upbringings may have been vastly different but the net result is not: they’re winners, as good as it gets at this.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
Their contrasting upbringings is what attracted them to each other, Charles Tyler, a Yale classmate and friend of the couple, told the BBC.
From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2025
His children, who had privileged upbringings and were educated overseas, will have no trouble fending for themselves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2024
This phrase was repeated by several others who shared their recollections of Zionist upbringings.
From Salon ● Apr. 21, 2024
I'd always known that my mom and I had completely different upbringings.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
