bring
/brɪŋ
/verb (past and past participle brought /brɔːt/) [with object]
1Take or go with (someone or something) to a place: she brought Luke home from hospital [with two objects]: Liz brought her a glass of water...
- She noticed that I was awake, and brought me a glass of water.
- We are bringing you the only guide you need to know what's hot.
- He came in a rented vehicle from Tikal, bringing a hired tour guide and a camera.
Synonyms
conduct, escort, guide, lead, usher, show, show someone the way, lead the way, pilot, accompany;
shepherd, herd, drive, convoy;
see, help, assist
1.1Cause (someone or something) to come to a place: what brings you here? a felony case brought before a jury figurative his inner confidence has brought him through his ordeal...
- There had been talk among their generals to bring her here before, but none had dared to touch her.
- This mixture effectively brought me into the feeling of the play.
- He's effective in bringing groups of Iraqis together, something he's done for many years.
Synonyms
carry, fetch, bear, take;
convey, transport;
transfer, move, come carrying;
lug, haul, shift
1.2 (bring someone in) Involve (someone) in a particular activity: he has brought in a consultancy company...
- The reliever was brought in to secure the victory.
- He brings Bart in on a lot of his schemes.
- When he was brought in to command the Second Army, he was well received by the men.
Synonyms
involve, include, count in, take in
1.3Cause someone to receive (an amount of money) as income or profit: two important Chippendale lots brought £10,000 each [with two objects]: five more novels brought him £150,000...
- The coffee shops were going to be open even longer as the commuters brought in much money even in the early hours.
- With ridership that quickly surpassed expectations, they also brought in profits.
- His books brought in an amazing income stream.
Synonyms
earn, make, bring in, fetch, yield, net, gross;
command, attract, realize, secure, return, produce
1.4Cause (someone or something) to move in a particular direction: he brought his hands out of his pockets heavy rain brought down the ceiling...
- If either one of you needs more assistance, bring your hands behind you and interlock fingers with her.
- Gail accompanied the tempo, bringing the sword slowly back in both hands.
- Gentle traction downward on the head will assist in bringing the anterior shoulder beneath the symphysis.
1.5Cause (something): the bad weather brought famine...
- The four-wheel drive system brings its own background noise, too.
- Losing two or more drives brings operations quickly to a halt.
- To stand up and not swing brings you great results.
Synonyms
cause, make happen, bring about/on, give rise to, create, produce, result in, wreak, effect, engender, occasion, generate, lead to, precipitate, kindle, trigger (off), spark (off), touch off, stir up, whip up, promote, contribute to
literary enkindle, beget
rare effectuate
2Cause (someone or something) to be in a particular state or condition: an economic policy that would have brought the country to bankruptcy I’ll give you an aspirin to bring down your temperature...
- Dementia is a progressive and disabling condition that brings turmoil and anguish to those involved.
- Whether these conditions exist or not depends on an agent bringing them into existence.
- In hard conditions bold and decisive actions of even small groups can bring success.
3Initiate (legal action) against someone: riot and conspiracy charges should be brought against them...
- Valid criminal charges could be brought against the Church, and prosecuted, now, as I will explain.
- There are very different degrees of seriousness to the charges that can be brought against a prisoner.
- Until the end of the Second World War, legal proceedings could not be brought against the Crown as of right.
Synonyms
put forward, prefer, propose, present, submit, lay, initiate, introduce, institute, moot
4 [usually with negative] (bring oneself to do something) Force oneself to do something unpleasant: she could not bring herself to mention it...
- I forced the inevitable because I can't bring myself to compromise.
- At first she was sure that he couldn't bring himself to mention the letter and let her down gently.
- It has half a bad novel inside it so I've never quite brought myself to throw it out.
Synonyms
force oneself to, make oneself, bear to
Phrases
bring home the bacon
bring something home to
bring the house down
bring it on
bring something to bear
bring someone to book
bring something to light
bring someone/thing to mind
bring something to pass
bring something to the table (or party)
what brings you here?
Phrasal verbs
bring something about
bring something back
bring someone down
bring someone/thing down
bring something forth
bring something forward
bring something in
bring someone off
bring something off
bring someone on
bring something on
bring someone out
bring something out
bring someone round (or around)
bring something to
bring up
bring someone up
bring something up
Derivatives
bringer
- Do you see yourself as a bringer of enlightenment?
- The bringer is always way worse than the person who actually ruins the party.
- He seems to think of us as meddlers and bringers of danger.
Origin
Old English bringan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch brengen and German bringen.