DictionaryAI

bring

BRING/ˈbɹɪŋ/

Formsbrings, bringing, brought

Often confused with take

8 meanings of bring

Practice

  1. 1
    carry alongverbtransitive
    To carry or lead something toward the speaker, the hearer, or a place in view.

    Could you bring the car around to the front?

    They brought gifts for the children.

    UsageBring usually means toward the speaker or listener, and take usually means away: bring it here, take it to her.

    Similarfetch, carry, deliver, bear, convey

    Oppositetake, remove

    Note

    Even in Middle English it covered moving things toward each other, not only carrying them to someone. A medical text from before 1420 speaks of bringing together the parts of a broken bone.

  2. 2
    causeverbtransitive
    To cause or occasion a result, often one that arrives unbidden.

    The new road brought heavy traffic to the village.

    Spring will bring longer days.

    UsageOften with a place or state after the object: it brought tears to my eyes, brought the memories flooding back.

    Similarcause, produce, create, generate, occasion

  3. 3
    contributeverbfigurativelytransitive
    To supply or contribute a quality or resource to a situation.

    She brings energy to everything she does.

    Can you bring anything new to the discussion?

    UsageOften with to, as in the set phrase bring something to the table: she brings real experience to the table.

    Similarcontribute, add, lend, give, offer

  4. 4
    legal caseverbtransitive
    To raise a lawsuit, a charge, or a complaint formally against someone.

    Prosecutors brought three counts of fraud.

    Anyone can bring a complaint to the ombudsman.

    UsageUsed with against for the person accused and before or to for the authority: bring charges against a suspect, bring a case before the court.

    Similarfile, lodge, press, institute

    Oppositedrop, withdraw

  5. 5
    persuadeverbtransitive
    To lead or induce someone, most often oneself, to a course or a belief.

    He could never bring himself to sell the house.

    They were brought to see reason at last.

    UsageUsually bring yourself to + verb, often with a negative: can't bring myself to sell it.

    Similarinduce, persuade, lead, prompt, move

    Oppositedissuade

    Note

    Its most common use is reflexive, which sets it apart from the carrying verb: the person being moved is also the one doing the moving.

Less common meanings

  1. 6
    sell forverbtransitive
    Of a thing being sold, to fetch a price or produce a sum of money.

    A good hide brings forty dollars.

    The cattle didn't bring much at market.

    UsageThe thing sold is the subject and the price the object: the painting brought two million at auction.

    Similarfetch, command, earn, yield, realize

  2. 7
    verb
    In baseball, to pitch, usually a hard fastball, mostly with 'it' as the object.
  3. 8
    interjection
    Used to imitate a telephone's ring, nearly always doubled.

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English bryngen, from Old English bringan, tracing back through Proto-Germanic *bringaną to Proto-Indo-European *bʰrenk-, possibly based on *bʰer-. It is related to Dutch brengen and German bringen.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

  • Bring derives from Middle English bryngen and Old English bringan. en.wiktionary.org
  • Its reconstructed ancestry includes Proto-Germanic *bringaną and Proto-Indo-European *bʰrenk-, possibly based on *bʰer-. en.wiktionary.org
  • Bring is related to Dutch brengen and German bringen. en.wiktionary.org