ENGLISH
REFERENCE

bringing

n. uncountable
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈbɹɪŋɪŋ// UK //bɹˈɪŋɪŋ// bring·ing

n. the way your parents or guardians raised you and the values they taught you. It describes the environment you grew up in.

n. the care and training a child receives while growing up, particularly regarding social and moral development. Often used in the compound form 'upbringing' to describe the formative influence of family and environment.


SIMPLE

His strict bringing influenced his adult life.

CONTEXTUAL

Despite a difficult bringing in a poor neighborhood, she worked hard to become a successful lawyer.

COMPLEX

Sociologists often debate whether a person's character is more heavily shaped by their genetic heritage or by the cultural bringing they experience during their early childhood years.

Synonyms
Usage

While 'bringing' can stand alone in specific literary contexts, it is almost universally replaced by the compound noun 'upbringing' in modern standard English.

Pitfall

She had a good bringing.She had a good upbringing.In modern English, the noun form for how a person was raised is almost always 'upbringing' rather than 'bringing'.

© 2026 English Reference