to bring to light
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To discover and expose. The duke yet would have dark deeds darkly answered; he would never bring them to light; would he were returned! — Measure for Measure, iii, 2.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to bring to light” mean?
To discover and expose. The duke yet would have dark deeds darkly answered; he would never bring them to light; would he were returned! — Measure for Measure, iii, 2.
Is “to bring to light” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.