get one's bearings

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, find one's bearings . Figure out one's position or situation relative to one's surroundings. For example, She's still new to the company and needs time to find her bearings , or I'll be along soon; just wait till I get my bearings . Naturally, one can also lose one's bearings , as in After we missed the turnpike exit, we completely lost our bearings . These phrases use bearings in the sense of “relative position,” a usage dating from the 1600s.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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