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bear fruit

 - 2 dictionary results
bear 1   (bâr)   
v.   bore (bôr, bōr), borne (bôrn, bōrn) or born (bôrn), bear·ing, bears

v.   tr.
  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).

v.   intr.
  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.

    1. To force oneself along; forge.

    2. To endure something with tolerance and patience: Bear with me while I explain matters.

  4. To extend or proceed in a specified direction: The road bears to the right at the bottom of the hill.

  5. To advance in a threatening manner: The ship bore down on our canoe.

  6. To apply maximum effort and concentration: If you really bear down, you will finish the task.

Phrasal Verb(s):
bear down
  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.

bear outTo prove right or justified; confirm: The test results bear out our claims.
bear upTo withstand stress, difficulty, or attrition: The patient bore up well during the long illness.

Idiom(s):
bear down onTo effect in a harmful or adverse way: Financial pressures are bearing down on them.

Idiom(s):
bear fruitTo come to a satisfactory conclusion or to fruition.

Idiom(s):
bear in mindTo 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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Idioms & Phrases

bear fruit

Yield results, have a favorable outcome, as in This new idea of his is bound to bear fruit. This metaphoric term, first recorded in 1879, transfers the production of fruit by a tree or plant to other kinds of useful yield.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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