bring up — raise a child
phrasal verbB2IELTS 6+neutralcommon
to care for and educate a child as they grow up.
Say it like a native
Textbook She reared three children unaccompanied.
Native She brought up three kids on her own.
'Bring up' is the everyday verb for raising children; 'rear' sounds old-fashioned or formal for people.
Pattern: bring up [child/person]
In use
- My parents brought me up to be independent.family
- In my country, it’s common for grandparents to help bring up children, especially when both parents are working.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ She was brought up by very strict.
✓ She was brought up by very strict parents. / She was brought up strictly.
'Brought up BY + person' or 'brought up + adverb' — don't leave it dangling.
Common collocations
bring up + child— three kids, a family, well, on your own
Don't confuse it
Different from 'grow up', which means to become older.
Related
- bring up (mention a topic) — Another meaning of 'bring up' is 'mention a topic'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.