bring down

bring someone down 

1. Lit. to assist or accompany someone from a higher place to a lower place. Please bring your friends down so I can meet them. She brought down her cousin, who had been taking a nap upstairs. Aunt Mattie was brought down for supper.

2. Fig. to bring someone to a place for a visit. Let's bring Tom and Terri down for a visit this weekend. We brought down Tom just last month. They were brought down at our expense for a weekend visit.

3. Fig. to restore someone to a normal mood or attitude. (After a period of elation or, perhaps, drug use.) The bad news brought me down quickly. I was afraid that the sudden change of plans would bring down the entire group.

See also: bring

bring something down 

1. Lit. to move something from a higher place to a lower place. Bring that box down, please. And while you're up there, please bring down the box marked "winter clothing."

2. to lower something, such as prices, profits, taxes, etc. The governor pledged to bring taxes down. I hope they bring down taxes.

3. Fig. to defeat or overcome something, such as an enemy, a government, etc. The events of the last week will probably bring the government down. The scandal will bring down the government, I hope.

See also: bring

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bring something down also bring down something

1. to reduce something Drugs can bring your blood pressure down.

2. to cause something to fail Dozens of Web sites were brought down by these software programs.

See also: bring

bring something down (on somebody) also bring down something (on somebody)

to cause something to have influence or power over someone Why would you bring down that kind of attention if you were trying not to be noticed? We don't bring violence down on people. People bring it down on themselves.

See also: bring

bring down somebody/something also bring somebody/something down

to remove a person or a government from power The demonstrations reminded me of the troubles that brought down the president. The students were not just asking for reforms, they wanted to bring down the government.

See also: bring