What Does 'Bring Up' Mean at Work? (Two Different Senses)

Bring up has two meanings that share the same words but almost never overlap in context.

1. To introduce or raise a topic in conversation.
2. To raise or rear a child from birth to adulthood.

The two senses rarely cause real confusion in practice, because the workplace overwhelmingly uses sense 1 — but it's worth being clear on both, since the "raise a child" sense does occasionally surface in casual conversation about family or background.

Sense 1: raising a topic in conversation

This is the sense you'll use constantly at work — introducing a subject, concern, or question into a discussion.

"I want to bring up the timeline concerns before we finalize the plan."

"She brought up a good point about the budget that nobody had considered."

"This isn't the right forum to bring that up — let's discuss it one-on-one."

This sense is close to raise or mention, and it's one of the most useful phrases for professional communication because it lets you introduce a topic without over-committing to a position on it yet.

"Can I bring something up?" is a common, polite way to signal you're about to introduce a new (possibly sensitive) subject.

Sense 2: raising or rearing a child

This sense refers to the process of raising a child — providing care, guidance, and upbringing over years.

"She was brought up in a small town before moving to the city for university."

"Bringing up two kids while working full-time isn't easy."

This sense almost never appears in project or business discussions, but it does show up in small talk, interviews, or personal conversations at work — describing someone's background or discussing work-life balance around parenting.

How to tell the two senses apart

The subject and object make the distinction immediate. If the object is a topic, point, issue, or concern, it's sense 1. If the object is a child, or the phrase is used passively about a person's upbringing ("brought up in..."), it's sense 2.

"He brought up the delay in the status meeting." (topic — sense 1)

"He was brought up by his grandparents." (upbringing — sense 2)

There's essentially no ambiguity in practice, but knowing both senses prevents a moment of confusion if you encounter the less common one.

Common mistakes

Mistake 1: Using "bring up" for a topic without enough context, which can sound abrupt.

Blunt:

"I'm bringing up the missed deadline."

Softer and more typical in professional settings:

"I wanted to bring up something about the timeline — do you have a minute?"

Mistake 2: Confusing "bring up" (raise a topic) with "come up" (a topic arises on its own).

These are related but not interchangeable — bring up requires a person actively introducing the topic; come up describes a topic arising, often without a clear initiator.

"I brought up the pricing issue in the call." (someone actively raised it)

"The pricing issue came up during the call." (it arose, possibly without anyone deliberately introducing it)

Mistake 3: Using "bring up" repeatedly about the same issue, which can read as nagging in writing.

If you've raised something more than once, it's often clearer to say so directly rather than relying on "bring up" again: "As I mentioned last week..." carries more weight than repeating "I want to bring this up again."

Practice scenarios

Practice using bring up in situations like:

• introducing a sensitive topic in a meeting politely
• asking permission before raising something that might be uncomfortable
• distinguishing between a topic you actively raised and one that simply came up
• describing your own upbringing or background in a casual conversation

Useful practice phrases:

• "Can I bring something up?"
• "I wanted to bring up a concern about..."
• "That's a good point to bring up in the retro."
• "I was brought up to always double-check my work."

Lyra Practice helps advanced non-native English professionals learn the nuance of high-value workplace expressions and practice using them in realistic scenarios, so their English sounds natural, precise, and senior at work. Try Lyra Practice.