bring

The sound of a telephone ringing.

Interjection

  1. The sound of a telephone ringing.
    • Near-synonyms: ring-a-ding, ding-a-ling
    • Having a telephone was a novelty; the cat certainly thought so as Charlie would yowl every time it rang, just in case the “bring bring” sound was not sufficient enough to bring to your attention that someone was...
    • A shrill bring bring sounded down the hall. The doorbell? Nope, the phone. I hesitated, drawn by the bath’s enticing promise. Bring bring. Let the phone ring. - 2011, Cate Lord, chapter 7, in Lucky Girl, Fort Collins,...

    Synonyms: ringaling tingaling ring-a-ding ding-a-ling

    Hypernyms: ringtone

    Related: brring brrring

Origin

Onomatopoeia.

Related

busy signal dial tone ding ding ding ding-dong ring

Verb

  1. To transport toward somebody/somewhere.
    • Waiter, please bring me a single malt whiskey.
    • Ne take noon hede to brynge togidere þe parties of þe boon þat is to-broken or dislocate, til viij. daies ben goon in þe wyntir, & v. in þe somer; for þanne it schal make quytture, and be sikir from swellynge; & þanne...
    • At twilight in the summer[…]the mice come out. They[…]eat the luncheon crumbs. Mr. Checkly, for instance, always brought his dinner in a paper parcel in his coat-tail pocket, and ate it when so disposed, sprinkling...
  2. To supply or contribute.
    • The new company director brought a fresh perspective on sales and marketing.
    • “[…]it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate...
  3. To occasion or bring about.
    • Let's bring our differences to an issue.
    • The controversial TV broadcast brought a storm of complaints.
    • Seeing her brought the memories flooding back and tears to my eyes.
  4. To raise (a lawsuit, charges, etc.) against somebody.
    • It has jailed environmental activists and is planning to limit the power of judicial oversight by handing a state-approved body a monopoly over bringing environmental lawsuits. - 2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast...
  5. To persuade; to induce; to draw; to lead; to guide.
    • It seems so preposterous a thing[…]that they do not easily bring themselves to it. - 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 2, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for...
  6. To produce in exchange; to sell for; to fetch.
    • What does coal bring per ton?
  7. To pitch, often referring to a particularly hard thrown fastball.
    • The closer Jones can really bring it.
  8. To move a piece into a more active position, esp. to initially develop it.
    • You want to bring the rook and then start pushing your pawns.

Origin

From Middle English bryngen, from Old English bringan, from Proto-West Germanic *bringan, from Proto-Germanic *bringaną (“to bring”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrenk-, possibly based on *bʰer-. Compare Scots bring, West Frisian bringe, Low German brengen, Dutch brengen, Afrikaans bring, German bringen; also Welsh hebrwng (“to bring, lead”), Tocharian B pränk- (“to take away; restrain oneself, hold back”), Latvian brankti (“lying close”), Lithuanian branktas (“whiffletree”).

Forms

brings bringing brought broughten no-table-tags glossary bring brang brung bringed bringest broughtest bringeth -

Derived

April showers bring May flowers bring about bring a knife to a gunfight bring along bring a lump to someone's throat bring-and-braai bring-and-buy bring-and-buy sale bring an end to bring around bring away bring back bring centre bring coals to Newcastle bring down bringdown bring down a notch bring down a peg bring down on bring down the curtain bring down the hammer bring down the house bring down to size bringer