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Glite Dictionary
to bring to someone's feet

to bring to someone's feet

6.7
To cause a group of people to stand and clap to show approval
  • idiom
translation icon : hacer levantarse
  • The exciting performance by the orchestra brought the audience to their feet, applauding loudly.

Examples

  • The final scene of the play was so powerful that it brought everyone in the theater to their feet.

  • This is why his presence, or that of any Medal of Honor winner, is sufficient to bring generals to their feet, saluting.

    The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

  • After the motivational speech, the crowd was brought to their feet with cheers and applause.

Synonyms

to bring down the house
vsto bring to someone's feet
  • Informal
4 5.5

To make an audience clap and cheer loudly

causes the audience to stand up to applaud
to bring down
vsto bring to someone's feet
  • Informal
2 5.4

Make an audience clap or cheer loudly

causes the audience to stand rather than only applaud

Antonyms

to disappoint
492 1.0

Fail to do what someone hoped for

to bore
15 1.4

To make someone feel tired or not interested by being dull when you speak

How Enthusiastic

to bring to someone's feet
6.7
to thrill
201 2.1
to impress
457 2.8
to entertain
226 2.0
to amuse
153 1.4

Surface Forms

bring to someone's feet infinitive
bringing to someone's feet present participle
brings to someone's feet third person singular
brought to someone's feet past
brought to someone's feet past participle

Morphology

bring + to + someone's + foot

The meaning 'to cause people to stand up' is directly derivable from the constituents: 'bring' (cause/produce an effect) + 'to' (direction/toward) + 'someone's feet' (the state/location associated with standing). This is a compositional, cross-linguistically common pattern (e.g., 'bring to one's feet' ≈ 'make stand up'), so a B1 learner who knows the words would readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Bring to someone's feet comes from the image of a performance so powerful that it brings people to their feet, where they stand up to clap and cheer. That's why it means 'to cause an audience to stand up' or 'to show great enthusiasm'.