Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To carry, convey, lead, or cause to go along to another place.
  • transitive verb To carry as an attribute or contribution.
  • transitive verb To lead or force into a specified state, situation, or location.
  • transitive verb To persuade; induce.
  • transitive verb To get the attention of; attract.
  • transitive verb To cause to occur as a consequence.
  • transitive verb To cause to occur as a concomitant.
  • transitive verb To cause to become apparent to the mind; recall.
  • transitive verb To advance or set forth (charges) in a court.
  • transitive verb To be sold for.
  • idiom (bring down the house) To win overwhelming approval from an audience.
  • idiom (bring home) To make perfectly clear.
  • idiom (bring home the bacon) To earn a living, especially for a family.
  • idiom (bring home the bacon) To achieve desired results; have success.
  • idiom (bring to bear) To exert; apply.
  • idiom (bring to bear) To put (something) to good use.
  • idiom (bring to light) To reveal or disclose.
  • idiom (bring to (one's) knees) To reduce to a position of subservience or submission.
  • idiom (bring to terms) To force (another) to agree.
  • idiom (bring up the rear) To be the last in a line or sequence.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English bringen, from Old English bringan; see bher- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English bringen, from Old English bringan ("to bring, lead, bring forth, carry, adduce, produce, present, offer"), from Proto-Germanic *bringanan (“to bring”) (compare West Frisian bringe, Dutch brengen, German bringen), from Proto-Indo-European *bhrenk (compare Welsh he-brwng ("to bring, lead"), Tocharian B pränk ("to take away; restrain oneself, hold back"), Albanian brengë ("worry, anxiety, concern"), Latvian brankti ("lying close"), Lithuanian branktas ("whiffletree")).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Onomatopeia

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Examples

  • His first veto will bring it down to 29%….second veto will net 28%…..bring on the bills, bring on the vetoes, but by all means bring ‘em on with impeachment proceedings.

    Think Progress » House passes prescription drug reform. 2007

  • I was sitting in Ron's when my phone rang. * bring bring* "Hello?"

    Feeds4all documents in category 'SEO' 2008

  • His first veto will bring it down to 29%….second veto will net 28%…..bring on the bills, bring on the vetoes, but by all means bring ‘em on with impeachment proceedings.

    Think Progress » House passes prescription drug reform. 2007

  • Mr. and Mrs. Swanson paid me to find you and bring you back; offered a bonus for the ’bring you back’ part.

    Fateful Journeys Gary E. Parker 2005

  • IV. iii.188 (361,1) Let it no more bring out ingrateful man!] [W: out to ungrateful] It is plain that _bring out_ is _bring forth_, with which the following lines correspond so plainly, that the commentator might be suspected of writing his note without reading the whole passage.

    Notes to Shakespeare, Volume III: The Tragedies Samuel Johnson 1746

  • It called the threat a "bad miscalculation", and appeared to goad Anonymous to action, with the phrase "bring it!"

    BBC News - Home 2011

  • Each of the nine South American countries competing for the title bring five-man rosters.

    Wichita State Headline News 2009

  • "The civil rights movement had the power to … what I call bring the dirt, the filth from under the American rug out of the cracks and corners, into the light so we can deal with it," said Lewis, a superdelegate who supports Obama, at a forum on faith and civil rights at Washington's National Cathedral.

    CNN Political Ticker 2009

  • Now that Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as the new Israeli Prime Minister, what kind of impact will his new title bring to Mid-East Peace developments?

    KCBS Bay Area News 2009

  • Now that Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as the new Israeli Prime Minister, what kind of impact will his new title bring to Mid-East Peace developments?

    KCBS Bay Area News 2009

Comments

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  • 'He brings with him his expertise in . . .'

    As opposed to bringing with his chauffeur? But it sounds more natural with 'with him'.

    March 25, 2009

  • Or perhaps simply, "He brings expertise in ..."?

    March 25, 2009

  • The Usage Note from the American Heritage Dictionary has a lot about the differences between bring and take, but at the end it has this bit about brung: "The form brung is common in colloquial use in many areas, even among educated speakers, but it is not acceptable for use in formal writing."

    March 1, 2011