Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

bear 1       (bâr)  Pronunciation Key  v.   bore (bôr, bōr), borne (bôrn, bōrn) or born (bôrn), bear·ing, bears v.   tr. To hold up; support. To carry from one place to another; transport. To carry in the mind; harbor: bear a grudge. To transmit at large; relate: bearing glad tidings. To have as a visible characteristic: bore a scar on the left arm. To have as a quality; exhibit: "A thousand different shapes it bears" (Abraham Cowley). To carry (oneself) in a specified way; conduct: She bore herself with dignity. To be accountable for; assume: bearing heavy responsibilities. To have a tolerance for; endure: couldn't bear his lying. To call for; warrant: This case bears investigation. To give birth to: bore six children in five years. To produce; yield: plants bearing flowers. To offer; render: I will bear witness to the deed. To move by or as if by steady pressure; push: "boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past" (F. Scott Fitzgerald). v.   intr. To yield fruit; produce: peach trees that bear every summer. To have relevance; apply: They studied the ways in which the relativity theory bears on the history of science. To exert pressure, force, or influence. To force oneself along; forge. To endure something with tolerance and patience: Bear with me while I explain matters. To extend or proceed in a specified direction: The road bears to the right at the bottom of the hill. To advance in a threatening manner: The ship bore down on our canoe. To apply maximum effort and concentration: If you really bear down, you will finish the task. Phrasal Verb(s): bear down To advance in a threatening manner: The ship bore down on our canoe. To apply maximum effort and concentration: If you really bear down, you will finish the task. bear out To prove right or justified; confirm: The test results bear out our claims. bear up To withstand stress, difficulty, or attrition: The patient bore up well during the long illness. Idiom(s): bear down on To effect in a harmful or adverse way: Financial pressures are bearing down on them. Idiom(s): bear fruit To come to a satisfactory conclusion or to fruition. Idiom(s): bear in mind To hold in one's mind; remember: Bear in mind that bridges freeze before roads. [Middle English beren, from Old English beran; see bher-1 in Indo-European roots.] Synonyms: These verbs mean to withstand something difficult or painful. Bear pertains broadly to the capacity to withstand: "Those best can bear reproof who merit praise" (Alexander Pope). Endure specifies a continuing capacity to face pain or hardship: "Human life is everywhere a state in which much is to be endured and little to be enjoyed" (Samuel Johnson). Stand implies resoluteness of spirit: Actors who can't stand criticism shouldn't perform in public. Abide and suffer suggest the capacity to withstand patiently: She couldn't abide fools. He suffered their insults in silence. Tolerate, when applied to something other than pain, connotes reluctant acceptance: "A decent . . . examination of the acts of government should be not only tolerated, but encouraged" (William Henry Harrison). See Also Synonyms at convey, produce. Usage Note: Thanks to the vagaries of English spelling, bear has two past participles: born and borne. Traditionally, born is used only in passive constructions referring to birth: I was born in Chicago. For all other uses, including active constructions referring to birth, borne is the standard form: She has borne both her children at home. I have borne his insolence with the patience of a saint.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

borne       (bôrn, bōrn)  Pronunciation Key  v.   A past participle of bear1.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
borne 

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Borne

Bear\ (b[^a]r), v. t. [imp. Bore (b[=o]r) (formerly Bare (b[^a]r)); p. p. Born (b[^o]rn), Borne (b[=o]r); p. pr. & vb. n. Bearing.] [OE. beren, AS. beran, beoran, to bear, carry, produce; akin to D. baren to bring forth, G. geb["a]ren, Goth. ba['i]ran to bear or carry, Icel. bera, Sw. b["a]ra, Dan. b[ae]re, OHG. beran, peran, L. ferre to bear, carry, produce, Gr. fe`rein, OSlav brati to take, carry, OIr. berim I bear, Skr. bh[.r] to bear. [root]92. Cf. Fertile.]

1. To support or sustain; to hold up.

2. To support and remove or carry; to convey.

I 'll bear your logs the while. --Shak.

3. To conduct; to bring; -- said of persons. [Obs.]

Bear them to my house. --Shak.

4. To possess and use, as power; to exercise.

Every man should bear rule in his own house. --Esther i. 22.

5. To sustain; to have on (written or inscribed, or as a mark), as, the tablet bears this inscription.

6. To possess or carry, as a mark of authority or distinction; to wear; as, to bear a sword, badge, or name.

7. To possess mentally; to carry or hold in the mind; to entertain; to harbor --Dryden.

The ancient grudge I bear him. --Shak.

8. To endure; to tolerate; to undergo; to suffer.

Should such a man, too fond to rule alone, Bear, like the Turk, no brother near the throne. --Pope.

I cannot bear The murmur of this lake to hear. --Shelley.

My punishment is greater than I can bear. --Gen. iv. 13.

9. To gain or win. [Obs.]

Some think to bear it by speaking a great word. --Bacon.

She was . . . found not guilty, through bearing of friends and bribing of the judge. --Latimer.

10. To sustain, or be answerable for, as blame, expense, responsibility, etc.

He shall bear their iniquities. --Is. liii. 11.

Somewhat that will bear your charges. --Dryden.

11. To render or give; to bring forward. "Your testimony bear" --Dryden.

12. To carry on, or maintain; to have. "The credit of bearing a part in the conversation." --Locke.

13. To admit or be capable of; that is, to suffer or sustain without violence, injury, or change.

In all criminal cases the most favorable interpretation should be put on words that they can possibly bear. --Swift.

14. To manage, wield, or direct. "Thus must thou thy body bear." --Shak. Hence: To behave; to conduct.

Hath he borne himself penitently in prison ? --Shak.

15. To afford; to be to; to supply with.

His faithful dog shall bear him company. --Pope.

16. To bring forth or produce; to yield; as, to bear apples; to bear children; to bear interest.

Here dwelt the man divine whom Samos bore. --Dryden.

Note: In the passive form of this verb, the best modern usage restricts the past participle born to the sense of brought forth, while borne is used in the other senses of the word. In the active form, borne alone is used as the past participle.

To bear down. (a) To force into a lower place; to carry down; to depress or sink. "His nose, . . . large as were the others, bore them down into insignificance." --Marryat. (b) To overthrow or crush by force; as, to bear down an enemy.

To bear a hand. (a) To help; to give assistance. (b) (Naut.) To make haste; to be quick.

To bear in hand, to keep (one) up in expectation, usually by promises never to be realized; to amuse by false pretenses; to delude. [Obs.] "How you were borne in hand, how crossed." --Shak.

To bear in mind, to remember.

To bear off. (a) To restrain; to keep from approach. (b) (Naut.) To remove to a distance; to keep clear from rubbing against anything; as, to bear off a blow; to bear off a boat. (c) To gain; to carry off, as a prize.

To bear one hard, to owe one a grudge. [Obs.] "C[ae]sar doth bear me hard." --Shak.

To bear out. (a) To maintain and support to the end; to defend to the last. "Company only can bear a man out in an ill thing." --South. (b) To corroborate; to confirm.

To bear up, to support; to keep from falling or sinking. "Religious hope bears up the mind under sufferings." --Addison.

Syn: To uphold; sustain; maintain; support; undergo; suffer; endure; tolerate; carry; convey; transport; waft.