1. To hold up; support.
2. To carry from one place to another; transport.
3. To carry in the mind; harbor: bear a grudge.
4. To transmit at large; relate: bearing glad tidings.
5. To have as a visible characteristic: bore a scar on the left arm.
6. To have as a quality; exhibit: "A thousand different shapes it bears" (Abraham Cowley).
7. To carry (oneself) in a specified way; conduct: She bore herself with dignity.
8. To be accountable for; assume: bearing heavy responsibilities.
9. To have a tolerance for; endure: couldn't bear his lying.
10. To call for; warrant: This case bears investigation.
11. To give birth to: bore six children in five years.
12. To produce; yield: plants bearing flowers.
13. To offer; render: I will bear witness to the deed.
14. To move by or as if by steady pressure; push: "boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past" (F. Scott Fitzgerald).

1. To yield fruit; produce: peach trees that bear every summer.
2. To have relevance; apply: They studied the ways in which the relativity theory bears on the history of science.
3. To exert pressure, force, or influence.
4. 1. To force oneself along; forge.
   2. To endure something with tolerance and patience: Bear with me while I explain matters.
5. To extend or proceed in a specified direction: The road bears to the right at the bottom of the hill.
6. To advance in a threatening manner: The ship bore down on our canoe.
7. To apply maximum effort and concentration: If you really bear down, you will finish the task.

1. To advance in a threatening manner: The ship bore down on our canoe.
2. To apply maximum effort and concentration: If you really bear down, you will finish the task.

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.