Meaning & use
brings home
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“brings home” is a form of “bring home”.
Meanings
verbtransitivefigurative
Makes someone fully understand or feel how serious or real something is.
Grammar: Takes an object and is usually followed by 'to someone': 'The report brings home to parents the dangers of screen time.'
Patterns
- brings home something to someone
- brings something home to someone
Seeing the flooded streets really brings home how quickly the climate is changing.
The documentary brings home to viewers the daily struggles of refugees.
Her illness brought home to him how much he depended on her.
verbtransitive
Carries or takes someone or something back to the place where they live.
Grammar: Takes an object; the object usually comes after 'home' or between 'brings' and 'home': 'She brings home groceries every Friday.'
Patterns
- brings home something
- brings someone home
He brings home fresh bread from the bakery every morning.
She brings her little brother home from school on Mondays.
The dog brings home sticks and leaves from the park.
Word forms
| base form | bring home |
|---|---|
| past tense | brought home |
| past participle | brought home |
| -ing form | bringing home |
Common combinations
- bring home a point
- The teacher used a simple story to bring home the point about honesty.
- bring home the reality of something
- The photographs brought home the reality of the war to people far away.
- bring home a salary
- After taxes, he brings home about two thousand dollars a month.
- bring home a medal
- The team brought home a gold medal from the championship.
Synonyms and how they differ
- emphasize
- Focuses on saying something strongly; 'bring home' focuses on making someone feel the truth of it, often through experience.
- drive home
- Very similar in the figurative sense, but 'drive home' is often used for arguments or warnings, while 'bring home' suggests a personal realization.
Word family
Commonly confused: brings home or bring home the bacon?
brings home vs bring home the bacon
This idiom means to earn money for your family, not to make someone understand something.
Practice
The news report ______ how dangerous the storm had been.
Choose one answer.
'Bring home' in the figurative sense takes the pattern 'bring something home to someone', so 'brought home to everyone' is correct. 'Brought everyone home' would mean physically took everyone to their houses.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “brings home”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.