(brĭng)
transitive verb brought brought (brôt),
bring·ing,
brings - To carry, convey, lead, or cause to go along to another place: brought enough money with me.
- To carry as an attribute or contribution: You bring many years of experience to your new post.
- To lead or force into a specified state, situation, or location: bring the water to a boil; brought the meeting to a close.
a. To persuade; induce: The defendant's testimony brought others to confess.
b. To get the attention of; attract: Smoke and flames brought the neighbors.
- To cause to occur as a consequence or concomitant: Floods brought destruction to the valley. For many, the fall brings hayfever.
- To cause to become apparent to the mind; recall: This music brings back memories.
- Law To advance or set forth (charges) in a court.
- To sell for: a portrait that brought a million dollars.
Phrasal Verbs: bring around/round To cause to adopt an opinion or take a certain course of action. To cause to recover consciousness.
bring down To cause to fall or collapse. To kill.
bring forth To give rise to; produce:
plants bringing forth fruit. To give birth to (young).
bring forward To present; produce:
bring forward proof. Accounting To carry (a sum) from one page or column to another.
bring in Law To give or submit (a verdict) to a court. To produce, yield, or earn (profits or income).
bring off To accomplish:
bring off a successful advertising campaign. bring on To cause to appear:
brought on the dessert. bring outa. To reveal or expose: brought out the facts.
b. To introduce (a debutante) to society.
To produce or publish:
bring out a new book. To nurture and develop (a quality, for example) to best advantage:
You bring out the best in me. bring to To cause to recover consciousness.
Nautical To cause (a ship) to turn into the wind or come to a stop.
bring up To take care of and educate (a child); rear. To introduce into discussion; mention. To vomit. To cause to come to a sudden stop.
Related Forms:
Usage Note: In most dialects of American English
bring is used to denote motion toward the place of speaking or the place from which the action is regarded:
Bring it over here. The prime minister brought a large retinue to Washington with her. Take is used to denote motion away from such a place:
Take it over there. The President will take several advisers with him when he goes to Moscow. When the relevant point of focus is not the place of speaking itself, the difference obviously depends on the context. We can say either
The labor leaders brought or
took their requests to the mayor's office, depending on whether we want to describe things from the point of view of the labor leaders or the mayor. Perhaps for this reason, the distinction between
bring and
take has been blurred in some areas; a parent may say of a child, for example,
She always takes a pile of books home with her from school. This usage may sound curious to those who are accustomed to observe the distinction more strictly, but it bears no particular stigma of incorrectness or illiteracy. • The form
brung is common in colloquial use in many areas, even among educated speakers, but it is not standard in formal writing.
