Meaning & use
bubble up
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Meanings
verbphrasal verb
To rise to the surface in the form of bubbles, as a liquid does when it boils or comes from underground.
Grammar: No object: water bubbled up from the spring; the subject is the liquid or gas.
Patterns
- bubble up from something
- bubble up through something
Hot water bubbled up from the spring in the rock.
Gas began to bubble up through the mud.
The soup bubbled up and spilled over the rim of the pot.
verbphrasal verbfigurative
To start to be felt or noticed after being hidden, as an emotion, idea or problem does.
Grammar: No object; the subject is the emotion, idea or issue: old resentments bubbled up.
Patterns
- bubble up from something
- bubble up to the surface
Old resentments bubbled up as soon as the family sat down to dinner.
A laugh bubbled up in her throat and she could not hold it back.
New ideas often bubble up in casual conversation.
verbphrasal verbbusinessinformal
To move gradually from the lower levels of an organization to the people in charge, as news or concerns do.
Grammar: No object, often with to: complaints bubbled up to senior managers.
Patterns
- bubble up to someone
Employee concerns finally bubbled up to the executive team.
The best suggestions tend to bubble up from the people on the shop floor.
Small problems bubble up quickly in a tight-knit team.
Word forms
| third person singular | bubbles up |
|---|---|
| past tense | bubbled up |
| past participle | bubbled up |
| -ing form | bubbling up |
Common combinations
- bubble up to the surface
- Her frustration bubbled up to the surface during the meeting.
- emotions bubble up
- Strong emotions bubbled up as she read the letter.
- bubble up from below
- Cold water bubbles up from below in this lake.
- ideas bubble up
- Ideas bubble up when people are relaxed.
- issues bubble up
- Issues bubbled up as soon as the project began.
Synonyms and how they differ
- well up
- Well up is used for emotions or liquid rising, especially tears, and it is less suited to ideas moving through an organization than bubble up.
- surface
- Surface as a verb means to appear after being hidden, while bubble up adds a gradual, lively feeling.
- emerge
- Emerge is more formal and neutral, while bubble up suggests something rising gradually from beneath.
- percolate
- Percolate suggests slow, steady movement through layers, especially of ideas or news, whereas bubble up suggests something breaking the surface.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: bubble up or boil over? bubble up or bubble over?
bubble up vs boil over
Boil over describes liquid spilling out of a pot, or tempers exploding, while bubble up describes something gradually rising, not necessarily spilling.
bubble up vs bubble over
Bubble over means to be overflowing with strong feelings, often cheerful ones, whereas bubble up means emerging into view.
Practice
Good ideas often _____ from the sales team to the executives, rather than coming from the top.
Choose one answer.
Bubble up describes ideas rising gradually from lower levels. Bubble over means to overflow with emotion, boil down means to reduce to the essentials, and burn out means to become exhausted.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bubble up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.