bring about
brɪŋ əˈbaʊt
Pushing the heavy thing round into a new position — bring about
The picture Something heavy is pushed round until it stands facing a different way than before. Come about is the wheel turning on its own; bring about is a hand pushing it round.
Where the picture shows up in bring about
-
a law pushing society round
The new law brought about a big change.
ðə njuː lɔː brɔːt əˈbaʊt ə bɪɡ tʃeɪndʒ
The new law caused a big change.
One sheet of paper shoves a huge wheel and the wheel turns the other way
-
something pushing the schedule round
What brought about the delay?
wʌt brɔːt əˈbaʊt ðə dɪˈleɪ
What caused the delay?
Something jams the clock's gears and the hands get shoved backwards
The question asks what did the pushing.
-
talks turning two sides to face each other
The talks finally brought about an agreement.
ðə tɔːks ˈfaɪnəli brɔːt əˈbaʊt ən əˈɡriːmənt
The talks finally produced an agreement.
Two people standing back to back turn slowly until they face each other and shake hands
-
a small force turning things little by little
Small habits can bring about real results.
smɔːl ˈhæbɪts kæn brɪŋ əˈbaʊt ˈriːəl rɪˈzʌlts
Small habits produce real results.
One push a day turns a heavy boulder a little at a time until it faces somewhere new
-
weather turning the state of things
The storm brought about a long power cut.
ðə stɔːrm brɔːt əˈbaʊt ə lɔːŋ ˈpaʊər kʌt
The storm caused a long blackout.
Wind shoves a power pole over and every light in the village goes out at once
All of it in one picture
Bring about is one picture: something heavy pushed round into a new position. A law pushing society round is a big change; something pushing the schedule round is a delay; talks pushing two sides round is an agreement. Small habits pushing a life round little by little give real results, and a storm pushing the power round leaves a blackout. The point is always that it did not turn by itself — something pushed.