to hold up; support: to bear the weight of the roof.
2.
to hold or remain firm under (a load): The roof will not bear the strain of his weight.
3.
to bring forth (young); give birth to: to bear a child.
4.
to produce by natural growth: a tree that bears fruit.
5.
to hold up under; be capable of: His claim doesn't bear close examination.
6.
to press or push against: The crowd was borne back by the police.
7.
to hold or carry (oneself, one's body, one's head, etc.): to bear oneself erectly.
8.
to conduct (oneself): to bear oneself bravely.
9.
to suffer; endure; undergo: to bear the blame.
10.
to sustain without yielding or suffering injury; tolerate (usually used in negative constructions, unless qualified): I can't bear your nagging. I can hardly bear to see her suffering so.
11.
to be fit for or worthy of: It doesn't bear repeating.
12.
to carry; bring: to bear gifts.
13.
to carry in the mind or heart: to bear love; to bear malice.
14.
to transmit or spread (gossip, tales, etc.).
15.
to render; afford; give: to bear witness; to bear testimony.
16.
to lead; guide; take: They bore him home.
17.
to have and be entitled to: to bear title.
18.
to exhibit; show: to bear a resemblance.
19.
to accept or have, as an obligation: to bear responsibility; to bear the cost.
20.
to stand in (a relation or ratio); have or show correlatively: the relation that price bears to profit.
21.
to possess, as a quality or characteristic; have in or on: to bear traces; to bear an inscription.
22.
to have and use; exercise: to bear authority; to bear sway.
–verb (used without object)
23.
to tend in a course or direction; move; go: to bear west; to bear left at the fork in the road.
24.
to be located or situated: The lighthouse bears due north.
25.
to bring forth young or fruit: Next year the tree will bear.
—Verb phrases
26.
bear down,
a.
to press or weigh down.
b.
to strive harder; intensify one's efforts: We can't hope to finish unless everyone bears down.
c.
Nautical. to approach from windward, as a ship: The cutter was bearing down the channel at twelve knots.
27.
bear down on or upon,
a.
to press or weigh down on.
b.
to strive toward.
c.
to approach something rapidly.
d.
Nautical. to approach (another vessel) from windward: The sloop bore down on us, narrowly missing our stern.
28.
bear off,
a.
Nautical. to keep (a boat) from touching or rubbing against a dock, another boat, etc.
b.
Nautical. to steer away.
c.
Backgammon. to remove the stones from the board after they are all home.
29.
bear on or upon, to affect, relate to, or have connection with; be relevant to: This information may bear on the case.
30.
bear out, to substantiate; confirm: The facts bear me out.
31.
bear up, to endure; face hardship bravely: It is inspiring to see them bearing up so well.
32.
bear with, to be patient or forbearing with: Please bear with me until I finish the story.
—Idiom
33.
bring to bear, to concentrate on with a specific purpose: Pressure was brought to bear on those with overdue accounts.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME beren, OE beran; c. OS, OHG beran, D baren, OFris, ON bera, Goth bairan, G (ge)bären, Russ berët (he) takes, Albanian bie, Tocharian pär-, Phrygian ab-beret (he) brings, L ferre, OIr berid (he) carries, Armenian berem, Gk phérein, Skt bhárati, Avestan baraiti; < IE *bher- (see -fer, -phore]
—Synonyms 1. uphold, sustain. 4. yield. 6. thrust, drive, force. 10. brook, abide, suffer. Bear,stand,endure refer to supporting the burden of something distressing, irksome, or painful. Bear and stand are close synonyms and have a general sense of withstanding: to bear a disappointment well; to stand a loss. Endure implies continued resistance and patience in bearing through a long time: to endure torture.
—Usage note Since the latter part of the 18th century, a distinction has been made between born and borne as past participles of the verb bear1. Borne is the past participle in all senses that do not refer to physical birth: The wheatfields have borne abundantly this year. Judges have always borne a burden of responsibility. Borne is also the participle when the sense is “to bring forth (young)” and the focus is on the mother rather than on the child. In such cases, borne is preceded by a form of have or followed by by: Anna had borne a son the previous year. Two children borne by her earlier were already grown. When the focus is on the offspring or on something brought forth as if by birth, born is the standard spelling, and it occurs only in passive constructions: My friend was born in Ohio. No children have been born at the South Pole. A strange desire was born of the tragic experience. Born is also an adjective meaning “by birth,” “innate,” or “native”: born free; a born troublemaker; Mexican-born.
bear 1Audio Help (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.
![[P]](http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/premium_mh.gif){kind=small}
Audio Help [bair] Pronunciation Key verb, bore or (Archaic
