An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'bring up' from a native speaker, with lots of example sentences
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them.
This post is all about the phrasal verb 'bring up', which has very varied and diverse meanings, especially compared to some of the recent phrasal verbs that I have covered such as 'look at' and 'take over'. In this post we will consider the different meanings that it has and also look at some common expressions that it is used in. So let's not beat around the bush* any longer and let's get started....
*'To beat around the bush' is an idiom that means to talk about things that are not important and not get to the point.
Please like and share the post if you find the article useful (I won't know otherwise)! Also, feel free to leave a comment at the end with your own sentence featuring 'bring up' 😊
BRING UP: KEY INFORMATION For more explanation of the terms in the table, click here
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | 7 |
Past tense forms | Brought up / Brought up |
Separable? | Yes |
THE BASICS
As I mentioned at the beginning, 'bring up' is a phrasal verb with very diverse meanings and consists of the verb 'to bring', meaning to take something to a place with you, and the prepositional particle 'up', meaning a movement in the direction away from the ground or towards the sky ↑.
I know from experience of teaching English that the verb 'to bring' can often be confused with the related verb 'to take'. The difference between these two verbs is mainly to do with the position of the speaker and the direction of movement. Both verbs can mean to carry something to a place. If the object is carried towards them, we use 'to bring' and if the object is carried away from where they are when they are speaking, we use 'to take'.
Can you bring me some water please? (Here the speaker is not moving and wants the water to come to them, where they are speaking.)
I will take some sandwiches with me to work tomorrow. (Here, the speaker is going to move from where they are speaking to go to work and the sandwiches will go with them.)
The above is just a brief overview of the differences between these two verbs and more detailed explanations are available elsewhere online. I just wanted to make you aware of the main differences here before we look at the phrasal verb meanings. So, without further ado, let's check them out....
MEANING 1: Literal
CEFR Language Level | A2 - Elementary |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To take up, to bring, to take |
Separable? | Yes |
To start things off, let's consider the literal meaning of the phrasal verb 'bring up', which is commonly used by native speakers to express the idea of transporting something to a place that is relatively higher than where they are.
This application is typically used when someone is upstairs in a house or building or in a higher physical position than the person who they are talking to and they want him or her to bring them something.
Could you bring up the boxes from the basement?
I've asked Mike to bring up my suitcase to the attic.
Linda brought up the laundry basket from the ground floor.
The waiter brought up the food to our hotel room.
We need to bring up the chairs from the storage room for the party.
On a grammatical note, one thing to note here is that we normally insert the object pronoun such as me, him, her, them etc. between 'bring' and 'up'.
I think this literal meaning is quite easy and straightforward to understand, so we'll move on to the next meanings but before we go, here are a couple of examples to illustrate usage....
Can you bring me up some water when you come to bed?
As it is your birthday tomorrow, I will bring you up some breakfast in bed.
MEANING 2: To raise a child
CEFR Language Level | B1 - Intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To raise, to rear |
Separable? | Yes |
The first non-literal meaning of 'bring up' that we will consider is similar to the common phrasal verb 'grow up', but while 'grow up' simply refers to the process of growing from a child to an adult, we use 'bring up' to talk about how our parents (or primary caregivers), actively look after and teach a child during the growing up process.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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This can be used to talk about where we lived during our childhood, as well as the beliefs and values that we were taught during this time.
It is used by native speakers commonly in both an active and a passive sense alike. In the active sense, we are talking about the parents or caregivers who are the subjects of the verb and in the passive sense we talk about ourselves or other people and what was taught and experienced during the growing up process.
My parents brought me up to always say please and thank you and to treat everyone with respect.
He was brought up in an orphanage and never knew his birth parents.
Lisa managed to bring up four children all by herself after her husband tragically died.
Mary worked hard to bring up her children on her own.
John and Sue brought up their kids to be kind and respectful.
Parents should bring up their children with good values.
My friend was brought up in a strict household.
EXTRA INFORMATION TO SOUND MORE LIKE A NATIVE....
Did you know that there is a noun that is derived from this application of 'bring up'?
The noun 'upbringing' is used to refer to how a person was treated, educated and shaped when they were growing up, or in other words, how they were brought up.
I had a very strict upbringing and so I have tried to be a little more relaxed with my own children.
What was your upbringing like?
Kathy's strict upbringing instilled in her a strong sense of discipline and responsibility.
Despite his humble upbringing, Jason worked hard and became a successful entrepreneur.
In addition to this useful noun, there are also a couple of other expressions that feature this usage of 'bring up' that I want to make you aware of....
Were you brought up in a barn? This rhetorical question is a variation of "Were you born in a barn?" and is used to criticise someone who leaves a door open in a room, particularly if it is cold or draughty.
Were you brought up or dragged up? This is another rhetorical question which can be aimed at someone who doesn't behave well, implying that their parents did not teach them how to behave properly when they were growing up.
Both of the above expressions are normally used in a humorous way and are not meant to cause offence, however it could be offensive if said in an unfriendly way, or if you do not have the right sort of relationship with the person, so I would recommend only using this with people with whom you have a good relationship.
MEANING 3: To introduce into a topic into conversation
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To introduce, to raise, to mention |
Separable? | Yes |
Our next meaning of 'bring up' is very different to the previous one that we've just looked at
and means 'to introduce a topic or subject of discussion into a conversation'.
Nous commonly used with this application....
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The idea behind this is that the person who brings the subject up, does so intentionally, i.e. the subject did not enter into the discussion by chance but because somebody wanted to discuss it. (By the way, if a subject enters into a conversation naturally, then the phrasal verb 'come up' (link here) would be applicable.)
This can be heard often in business English, especially in reference to meetings and agendas for subjects that need to be discussed. It is also equally common to use it outside of the business world, when talking about general conversations or discussions.
I've made a note of the issue and I will bring it up at the next management meeting.
Why did you have to bring that up in front of my parents?! You know their views on the subject!
I didn't want to bring up the funeral yesterday as I could see that you were already upset.
Anna brought up an interesting point during the debate.
I didn’t want to bring up the argument from yesterday, so I kept quiet.
Nick always brings up politics at family dinners.
The teacher brought up the importance of time management.
Let’s not bring up that embarrassing story again!
MEANING 4: To vomit
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Rare |
Separable | Yes |
Potential synonyms | To vomit, to puke, to throw up, to barf, to be sick, to cough up |
Separable? | Yes |
Out fourth application of 'bring up' means 'to vomit or to be sick'*. Although this is not the most pleasant of meanings, it happens to us all at some point and is therefore worth covering!
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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When we use this application of 'bring up', the focus is not so much on the vomiting action itself, but rather on what is being expelled from the stomach and could be for example blood, poison or something that you have swallowed that you should not have.
It is also possible to use 'bring up' in this sense with coughing, for example with phlegm. We can also use the more specific phrasal verb 'to cough up' here as a synonym.
The baby brought up some milk after feeding.
Kate had food poisoning and kept bringing up her dinner.
After drinking too much, Jack ran to the bathroom to bring up his drinks.
The motion sickness made Marianne bring up her breakfast.
The dog was very sick and was bringing up lots of blood but luckily it was not life-threatening and he has made a full recovery now.
My 3-year old son swallowed a small toy part but he brought it up again shortly afterwards before any harm was done.
*As a side note, don't forget that 'to be sick' in English can mean to have an illness or disease and also to vomit. The context is key here to understand which one we mean.
Meaning 5: To cause to appear on a screen
CEFR Language Level | B2 Upper intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To open |
Separable? | Yes |
Our next meaning of 'bring up' is one that has become MUCH more widespread over the last few decades as it is used particularly with IT and computers and means 'to cause something to appear on your screen'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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This application is normally used when we click on something to open it, such as a document or web page, but is also used extremely commonly when talking about the results of a search on a search engine (naming no names, you know the ones I'm talking about!).
If you right click with your mouse, it will bring up a menu.
Can you bring up the results of the test on your screen for me?
When I looked up the question online it brought lots of irrelevant results up.
Press this button to bring up the settings menu.
Can you bring up the document on your laptop?
Meaning 6: To come to a sudden stop
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To stop, to halt, to pull over |
Separable? | Yes |
This sixth meaning of 'bring up' is a rarer one than some of the meanings that we have already covered and means 'to cause a vehicle to come to a sudden stop'.
This is especially used for cars, but could be used for all types of vehicles, including boats, where it is specifically used for dropping an anchor in order to stop it.
They decided to bring up the ship in the harbour for the night due to the bad weather.
The driver brought up the car just before the red light.
IDIOM ALERT! I think that this is a good time to introduce an idiom with 'bring up' that is linked to this particular meaning. The idiom 'to bring someone up short' is a fairly common expression that is used to express when someone stops what they are doing because something has surprised or shocked them.
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MEANING 7: To update or improve
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To update, to modernise, to improve |
Separable? | Yes |
This seventh and final meaning of 'bring up' that I wanted to include in the post is when it is used to describe the process of updating or improving something.
This is typically expressed by way of two different set expressions: 'to bring someone up to date' and 'to bring someone up to speed'.
When we use it to talk about updating (bring up to date), we can mean updating a machine, a product, a building or anything else which can be modernised so that it is as current as possible.
Moreover, we can also use it to mean updating a person (bring up to speed), so that they have all of the most recent information about a given topic or situation.
A third, rarer, set expression exists with this application, which is 'to bring something up to standard'. This can also be used in reference to improving something (often, incidentally, by modernising it) so that certain standards are met.
The interior designers are planning to bring the interior of the castle up to date.
I had a meeting with Roger earlier and he brought me up to speed with everything that I missed whilst I was on holiday.
The teaching in the school was very poor, so a team was sent there to bring it up to standard.
Can you bring me up to date on the latest project developments?
The company is bringing its software up to date with new features.
Kelly brought the team up to date on the changes in the schedule.
I need to bring my knowledge up to date with the latest technology trends.
The teacher brought the students up to date on the recent discoveries in science.
IDIOM: TO BRING UP THE REAR
Before I finish the post, I just want to give you a bonus expression featuring our phrasal verb of choice 'bring up'. The expression in question is 'to bring up the rear' and is quite appropriate to have at the end of this post as it means to be the last one of a group or category. This is most often used when talking about the last people in a queue, line or group of people who are going somewhere.
The slowest hikers brought up the rear of the group.
In the marathon, Jamie struggled but managed to bring up the rear.
Photo: Pexels
We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on it and reading it. I hope that you found it useful and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts.
Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'bring up'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!!
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