I. ˈbe(ə)r, ˈba(a)(ə)r, ˈbeə, ˈba(a)ə noun
( -s ; see sense 1 )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English bere, from Old English bera; akin to Old High German bero bear, Lithuanian bėras brown, Old English brūn — more at brown
1. or pl bear
a. : an animal of the family Ursidae (order Carnivora) of large heavy mammals having long shaggy hair, rudimentary tail, and plantigrade feet, feeding largely on fruit and insects as well as on flesh, and though ordinarily slow and clumsy moving very fast for short distances especially on rough or steep ground — see grizzly bear , polar bear
b. Australia : koala
c. : the fur or pelt of any bear
2.
a. : a person felt to resemble a bear especially in surly irascibility, coarse uncouthness, or shambling burliness
bad-tempered and demanding, he was a perfect bear all morning
a lumbering good-natured bear of a man
b. : a person having a special aptitude, excellence, or enthusiasm
a bear at mathematics
: one showing resolution or ruggedness in enduring
a bear for punishment
3.
[probably from bear as used in the proverb about selling the bearskin before catching the bear ]
a. obsolete : a stock or commodity sold short
b. : one that sells short : one interested in price decline : one who wishes or expects a fall in stock prices — compare bull
4. : a mat or matting-covered block especially for scouring decks ; sometimes : holy stone
5. : a small invertebrate animal felt to resemble a bear: as
a. : water bear
b. : ant bear
c. : woolly bear
6. : a nearly neutral slightly brownish dark gray — called also Chaetura drab
7. : a cub scout of the third rank who is at least nine years old
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to lower prices in or at : depress
attempts to bear the stock market
III. ˈbē(ə)r, ˈbe(ə)r noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English bere, from Old English — more at barley
chiefly Scotland : barley
IV. ˈbe(ə)r, ˈba(a)(ə)r, ˈbeə, ˈba(a)ə verb
( bore ˈbō(ə)r, ˈbȯ(ə)r, ˈbōə, ˈbȯ(ə) ; or archaic bare pronounced like bear ; borne ˈbō(ə)rn, ˈbȯ(ə)rn, ˈbōən, ˈbȯ(ə)n ; also born ˈbȯ(ə)rn, ˈbȯ(ə)n ; (see vt 2a,d,e,f) or dialect bore pronounced like bore above ; bearing ; bears )
Etymology: Middle English beren, from Old English beran; akin to Old High German beran to carry, Old Norse bera, Gothic bairan, Latin ferre, Greek pherein, Sanskrit bharati he carries
transitive verb
1.
a. : to move while holding up or supporting often with effort or special care : carry
let four captains bear Hamlet, like a soldier to the stage — Shakespeare
bearing gifts to the newborn prince
b. : to be accoutered or fitted out with : carry as equipment
the right to bear a sword in the king's presence
c. : to harbor or entertain mentally or emotionally ; sometimes : cherish
bearing malice in his heart
the love he bore his mother
d. : to carry as a communication and usually to relate
killing the runner bearing the orders
constantly bearing tales
e. : behave , conduct , deport — used reflexively
bearing himself well in battle
f. archaic : manage , wield , exercise
bear his power wisely
bearing the rule in the land
g. : to have as an attribute, feature, or characteristic
bearing a likeness to the suspect
bearing the scars of old wounds
: be capable of (as meaning or significance)
a word bearing many meanings
h. : to adduce in testifying
bearing false witness
bear testimony
i. : to have attached to one by way of identification, characterization, or evaluation
bearing the name of John Doe
bearing a good local reputation
bearing a high price
j. : to use as an armorial emblem
bearing the family coat of arms
k. : to have as a bodily part
bearing a good pair of eyes
l. obsolete : win : prevail in — used only with it
bear it by speaking a great word — Francis Bacon
m. : lead , escort
bear the officer to his quarters
n. : render , give , tender
bear a hand in helping
o. : transport
goods borne in neutral ships
air borne troops
2.
a. : to give birth to (offspring) : bring forth (young) — borne is the usual past participle form in active uses
she has borne several children
and is commonly used in passives seeming to suggest the action of giving birth especially as used with by
several children borne by her
— born is the usual form in passives indicating the fact of birth
a son born to her
he was born in the city
and in adjective uses indicating condition or status often with durative aspect
new- born kittens
a suitor lowly born — W.S.Gilbert
b. : produce : send forth as yield especially as leaf, flower, or fruit
a tree bearing late pears
a bush bearing red flowers
c. : afford:
(1) : to permit growth of often readily
this soil bears good cotton
(2) : to contain in quantity and form permitting extraction
oil- bearing shale
(3) : to yield to the owner
a bond that bears interest
d. : to call into being — used only in the passive; born is the usual past participle form
with this discovery a new age was born
e. : to give birth to or to develop with a special predisposition or bent — used only in the passive; born is the usual past participle form
he loved teaching; he had been born to it
f. : extrude — used mainly in the passive; born is the usual past participle form
after the lamb's head was born
3.
a. : sustain : support or hold up without moving
b.
(1) : tolerate : sustain with opposing or resisting — usually used in negative constructions
a nuisance not to be borne longer
(2) : to endure especially without giving way, collapsing, or succumbing
bearing his sorrows as best he could
pain more than he could bear
(3) : to tolerate without discomfort or distaste : come to accept the presence of — usually used in negative constructions
he could not bear his sister-in-law
c.
(1) : assume , accept
he must bear the blame
(2) : to incur and defray
bear by himself the whole cost of the arrangement
d. : to hold up : keep from falling
columns that bear the roof
— often used with up
a support that bears up the weight
e. : to hold above, on top, or aloft — usually used with adverb or prepositional phrase
a banner borne aloft
a table bearing several vases
f. : to endure with ill will, resentment, or grievance : experience with bitterness or other deep unpleasant feeling — usually used with hard or heavy
he bore it hard to be ignored
— obs. with a personal object
Ligarius doth bear Caesar hard — Shakespeare
g.
(1) : to show as written, inscribed, or otherwise displayed on a surface
a cornerstone bearing a Latin inscription
a letter bearing the date of 1900
a shield bearing strange symbols
(2) : to enter on a list : enroll , register — used passively
inactive personnel still borne on the rolls
h.
(1) : to allow or admit of : be capable of sustaining without violence or wrenching
a style that can bear adornment
a work that will not bear close scrutiny
(2) : suggest , provoke , invite
his book bore heavy praise
the answer of this witness will bear examination
i. archaic : purport , import , signify
her sentence bore that she should stand a certain time upon the platform — Nathaniel Hawthorne
j. : take , play
bearing only a secondary part
4. : thrust , drive , press : impel with force
the defenders being borne backward
a canoe borne down the rapids
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to force one's way : make way against resistance : press
bear back that the prince may pass
b. : to be situated, often as to compass direction
the land bears N by E
the fleet bearing directly off the point
c. : to extend or continue usually along a direction indicated or implied
a stream bearing south for several miles
d. : to show a certain direction, range, or aim : to have a position commanding an objective (as an enemy position) — used with on or upon
to bring guns to bear upon a target
e. : go , proceed
nearer and nearer the foe are bearing
often : to direct or take a course (in an indicated way) especially with a slight veering or inclination rather than a right-angle turn
the road bears west beyond the lake
bear right into the outer lane at the next corner but do not turn
2.
a. : to relate or have relevance : apply , pertain
facts bearing on the question
b. : to exert influence or force : affect , sway : put into effect
to bring pressure to bear
how this discovery will bear on later developments
legislation brought to bear directly upon industry — Harriet Martineau
c. : to exert pressure or repose weight : push on or against something
the wall bearing on the floor
an arch bearing against piers
3.
a. : to become subjected to a strain especially in a structure : withstand a strain
a wall added later that does not bear
these small joists will not bear
b. obsolete : to hold good : be convincing
c. : to support a person's or a vehicle's weight without cracking or breaking
wondering if the thawing ice would still bear
4. : to produce as fruit : be fruitful : yield
plants that bear well
Synonyms:
produce , yield , turn out : bear in the sense here involved usually implies a giving birth to or a bringing forth naturally
bearing children
a sow may bear litters of over a dozen
these fruit trees bear very well
produce is very wide in its application and is used for any act of bringing forth or making
the tree will produce no fruit
a pair will produce over a hundred offspring
the factory is producing more silk than ever
he produced a book on the subject at the publisher's request
not until the end of the tenth century did the English produce a truly notable prose writer — Kemp Malone
George was dead. This death produced no effect of sadness on me at all — Arnold Bennett
yield may center attention on the fact of giving forth or out of something within
the farms yielded a variety of fruit, vegetables, poultry, and cattle — American Guide Series: New Jersey
these areas yield about one hundred thousand barrels of oil a day — Current Biography
turn out indicates production or result of previous labor or effort
the factory is now turning out more automobiles
Synonyms:
endure , suffer , abide ; tolerate , stand : bear is likely to indicate the power of sustaining an affliction onerous or difficult without breaking or flinching
bear the brunt of the fighting
bear the major part of the loss
bear the pain of the illness
his decency, which has made him bear prolonged and intolerable humiliation with control and courtesy — Marya Mannes
a hardy crew, these men who bore the hardships of the lumbering industry — American Guide Series: Washington
endure indicates the fact of lasting without succumbing, of continuing unbroken or firm through trials and difficulties
he had endured, and was to endure again, a life of tragic penury — W.B.Yeats
an element of the austere which has allowed him to endure the miseries of prison life with indifference — Times Literary Supplement
Chinese culture has endured many conquerors but has always managed to absorb them — Stuart Chase
suffer indicates the experiencing of affliction, or what is felt to be like affliction, sometimes with voluntary acceptance
identify himself so thoroughly with the cause of the exploited Indian that he denounced his Puritan fellows and suffered exile — H.A.Overstreet
braves suffered their hands and noses to be cut off for their defiance of Spanish authority — American Guide Series: Florida
for a moment the girl suffered the caress; almost she seemed to nestle closer to the Dowager's shoulder — Rafael Sabatini
abide may refer notably to looking forward to afflictive circumstances or agencies as well as trying to endure them with patience and stoicism
I had been grossly wrong, and must abide the consequences — Jane Austen
he fled to Sicily, with a tacit confession that he dared not abide his trial — J.A.Froude
she was a professional do-gooder, a professional busybody; Hawthorne could not abide her — H.S.Commager
tolerate suggests an enduring or countenancing conditioned in part by individual characteristics or inclinations
the Father of all mankind seems always to have tolerated a diversity of views among His children — M.R.Cohen
children have been found quite able to tolerate eyeglasses at the age of fifteen months — Morris Fishbein
Arnold swallowed an injustice which others would not have tolerated — R.G.Adams
stand , which sometimes has informal suggestion, may apply to bearing with steady firmness, without discomposure or flinching
his wife could not have stood another winter here — Owen Wister
this interference, is more than we can stand — W.S.Gilbert
Synonym: see in addition carry , press .
•
- bear a hand
- bear arms
- bear arms against
- bear date
- bear fruit
- bear in hand
- bear in mind
- bear in with
- bear low sail
- bear with