bear down
to press or weigh down
to approach in a determined or threatening manner
(of a vessel) to make an approach (to another vessel, obstacle, etc) from windward
(of a woman during childbirth) to exert a voluntary muscular pressure to assist delivery
Words Nearby bear down
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
How to use bear down in a sentence
When the rains of racism descend, and its floods bear down, the house will fall.
Bill O’Reilly to Blacks: Stop Listening to ‘Gangsta’ Music! | Jamelle Bouie | February 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut it is the rarest of occasions when legislators or journalists bear down on the experts.
Leslie H. Gelb: The Dangers of Warmongering on Syria, Iran | Leslie H. Gelb | March 9, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTHistory will bear down on her as it did on Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy.
Longstreet's plan was to attack with all the vigor possible,—to (p. 282) bear down all opposition in the outset.
The Boys of '61 | Charles Carleton Coffin.Signal was made to bear down on the enemy in two lines, and all sail was set, the Victory leading.
The World's Greatest Books, Vol X | Various
Signal was made to bear down upon the enemy in two lines; and the fleet set all sail.
The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson | Robert SoutheyAnimating his followers by his voice, and his own example, Hawkeye then gave the word to bear down upon their foes.
The Last of the Mohicans | James Fenimore CooperThe great will inclosed in his little body seemed to bear down hard upon her so as really to hurt.
The Incendiary | W. A. (William Augustine) Leahy
Other Idioms and Phrases with bear down
Press or weigh down on someone or something. For example, This pen doesn't write unless you bear down hard on it. [Late 1600s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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