bear 1
/bair/ , v. , bore or ( Archaic ) bare; borne or born; bearing .
v.t.
1. 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.
v.i.
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.
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. Naut. 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. Naut. to approach (another vessel) from windward: The sloop bore down on us, narrowly missing our stern.
28. bear off ,
a. Naut. to keep (a boat) from touching or rubbing against a dock, another boat, etc.
b. Naut. 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.
33. bring to bear , to concentrate on with a specific purpose: Pressure was brought to bear on those with overdue accounts.
[ 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; bher- (see -FER, -PHORE ]
Syn. 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 . Since the latter part of the 18th century, a distinction has been made between BORN and BORNE as past participles of the verb BEAR 1 . 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 2
— bearlike , adj.
/bair/ , n. , pl. bears , ( esp. collectively ) bear , adj., v., beared, bearing .
n.
1. 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.
2. any of various animals resembling the bear, as the ant bear.
3. a gruff, burly, clumsy, bad-mannered, or rude person.
4. a person who believes that market prices, esp. of stocks, will decline (opposed to bull ).
5. Informal. a person who shows great ability, enthusiasm, stamina, etc.: a bear for physics.
6. ( cap. ) Astron. either of two constellations, Ursa Major or Ursa Minor.
7. Informal. a player at cards who rarely bluffs.
8. ( cap. ) Russia.
9. 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.
adj.
10. having to do with or marked by declining prices, as of stocks: bear market.
v.t.
11. Stock Exchange. to force prices down in (a market, stock, etc.).
[ bef. 1000; ME be ( a ) re, beor ( e ), OE bera; c. Fris bar, D beer, OHG bero (G Bär ); beran- lit., the brown one; akin to ON bjorn, bersi; cf. Lith béras brown. Cf. BRUIN ]