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bear
1[ bair ]
verb (used with object)
- to hold up;support:
to bear the weight of the roof.
- to hold or remain firm under (a load):
The roof will not bear the strain of his weight.
- to bring forth (young); give birth to:
to bear a child.
- to produce by natural growth:
a tree that bears fruit.
Synonyms:yield
- to hold up under; be capable of:
His claim doesn't bear close examination.
- to press or push against:
The crowd was borne back by the police.
- to hold or carry (oneself, one's body, one's head, etc.):
to bear oneself erectly.
- to conduct (oneself ):
to bear oneself bravely.
to bear the blame.
- 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.
- to be fit for or worthy of:
It doesn't bear repeating.
- to carry;bring:
to bear gifts.
- to carry in the mind or heart: to bear malice.
to bear love;
to bear malice.
- to transmit or spread (gossip, tales, etc.).
to bear witness;
to bear testimony.
- to lead; guide; take:
They bore him home.
- to have and be entitled to:
to bear title.
to bear a resemblance.
- to accept or have, as an obligation: to bear the cost.
to bear responsibility;
to bear the cost.
- to stand in (a relation or ratio); have or show correlatively:
the relation that price bears to profit.
- to possess, as a quality or characteristic; have in or on: to bear an inscription.
to bear traces;
to bear an inscription.
- to have and use;exercise: to bear sway.
to bear authority;
to bear sway.
verb (used without object)
- to tend in a course or direction; move; go: to bear left at the fork in the road.
to bear west;
to bear left at the fork in the road.
- to be located or situated:
The lighthouse bears due north.
- to bring forth young or fruit:
Next year the tree will bear.
verb phrase
- to be patient or forbearing with:
Please bear with me until I finish the story.
- to press or weigh down on.
- to strive toward.
- to approach something rapidly.
- Nautical.to approach (another vessel) from windward:
The sloop bore down on us, narrowly missing our stern.
- to endure; face hardship bravely:
It is inspiring to see them bearing up so well.
- to substantiate;confirm:
The facts bear me out.
- Nautical.to keep (a boat) from touching or rubbing against a dock, another boat, etc.
- Nautical.to steer away.
- Backgammon.to remove the stones from the board after they are all home.
- to affect, relate to, or have connection with; be relevant to:
This information may bear on the case.
- to press or weigh down.
- to strive harder; intensify one's efforts:
We can't hope to finish unless everyone bears down.
- Nautical.to approach from windward, as a ship:
The cutter was bearing down the channel at twelve knots.
bear
2[ bair ]
noun
- any of the plantigrade, carnivorous or omnivorous mammals of the family Ursidae, having massive bodies, coarse heavy fur, relatively short limbs, and almost rudimentary tails.
- any of various animals resembling the bear, as theant bear.
- a gruff, burly, clumsy, bad-mannered, or rude person.
- a person who believes that market prices, especially of stocks, will decline (bull ).
- Informal.a person who shows great ability, enthusiasm, stamina, etc.:
a bear for physics.
- Bear,Astronomy.either of two constellations, Ursa Major or Ursa Minor.
- Informal.a player at cards who rarely bluffs.
- Bear.Russia.
adjective
- having to do with or marked by declining prices, as of stocks:
bear market.
verb (used with object)
- Stock Exchange.to force prices down in (a market, stock, etc.).
Bear
3[ bair ]
noun
- Mount Bear, a mountain in southern Alaska, in the Saint Elias Mountains. 14,831 feet (4,520 meters).
Bear
1/ bɛə /
noun
- the English name forUrsa MajorUrsa Minor
- an informal name forRussia
bear
2/ bɛə /
verb
- to support or hold up; sustain
- to bring or convey
to bear gifts
- to take, accept, or assume the responsibility of
to bear an expense
- past participle bornin passive use except when foll by byto give birth to
to bear children
- also intrto produce by or as if by natural growth
to bear fruit
- to tolerate or endure
she couldn't bear him
- to admit of; sustain
his story does not bear scrutiny
- to hold in the conscious mind or in one's feelings
to bear a grudge
I'll bear that idea in mind
- to show or be marked with
he still bears the scars
- to transmit or spread
to bear gossip
- to render or supply (esp in the phrasebear witness)
- to conduct or manage (oneself, the body, etc)
she bore her head high
- to have, be, or stand in (relation or comparison)
his account bears no relation to the facts
- intrto move, be located, or lie in a specified direction
the way bears east
- to have by right; be entitled to (esp in the phrasebear title)
- bear a handto give assistance
- bring to bearto bring into operation or effect
he brought his knowledge to bear on the situation
bear
3/ bɛə /
noun
- any plantigrade mammal of the familyUrsidae: orderCarnivora(carnivores). Bears are typically massive omnivorous animals with a large head, a long shaggy coat, and strong claws See alsoblack bearbrown bearpolar bear ursine
- any of various bearlike animals, such as the koala and the ant bear
- a clumsy, churlish, or ill-mannered person
- a teddy bear
- stock exchange
- a speculator who sells in anticipation of falling prices to make a profit on repurchase
- (as modifier) Comparebull 1
a bear market
verb
- trto lower or attempt to lower the price or prices of (a stock market or a security) by speculative selling
Confusables Note
Other Word Forms
- bearlikeadjective
Word History and Origins
Origin ofbear1
Word History and Origins
Origin ofbear1
Origin ofbear2
Idioms and Phrases
- bring to bear, to concentrate on with a specific purpose:
Pressure was brought to bear on those with overdue accounts.
- loaded for bear,Informal.fully prepared and eager to initiate or deal with a fight, confrontation, or trouble:
Keep away from the boss—he's loaded for bear today.
- bear false witness.bear false witness.
- bear witness.bear witness.
More idioms and phrases containingbear
- bring to bear
- cross as a bear
- cross to bear
- grin and bear it
- loaded for bear
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
But even when the narrative becomes almost too terrible to bear, Krakauer offers these small human moments of compassion, expertly reminding his audience that this is a real incident that happened to real people.
Most of all, though, Cave Canem is a reflection of the ethos everyone involved in it has brought to bear on the endeavor.
In fact, Mr Kretinsky says he hopes to bring the European parcel know-how at GLS to bear on Royal Mail's operations.
As Paul Cartledge explains, mythic settings offered raw material for dramatists to explore how a community should bear its collective responsibilities.
“California’s farmers and ranchers are at significant risk of bearing the brunt of any potential retaliatory actions resulting from the broad imposition of global tariffs,” said Shannon Douglass, president of the California Farm Bureau Federation.
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Bear Vs. Bare
What’s the difference betweenbear andbare?
As a verb,bear commonly means to endure something negative (as inI can’t bear to watch) or to carry, hold up, or support (as inThe roof can’t bear that much weight), while as a noun it refers to the big furry animal (likegrizzlybears andpolarbears).Bare can be an adjective that means uncovered (as inbare feet) or empty or without the usual contents (as inbare cabinets orbare walls), or a verb meaning to reveal or open to view (as inbare your secrets).
Bare is most commonly used as an adjective, usually involving something uncovered or empty.
As a verb,bear is often used in the context of holding or carrying things, including in literal, physical ways (as inbear a load orbear weight) and in figurative ones (as inbear a grudge).
To remember the difference in spelling, remember thatbears haveears, and they are able tobear a lot of weight because of how big and strong they are, but they are neverbare because they are covered in fur.
Here’s an example ofbear andbare used correctly in a sentence.
Example:Why does the bear never wear shoes? Because he prefers bare feet.
Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of thedifference betweenbear andbare.
Quiz yourself on bear vs. bare!
Shouldbear orbare be used in the following sentence?
He chose to _____ his soul to her by showing her his poetry.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from 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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