bearing Hear it!

bearing definition

bear·ing (ber)

noun

  1. way of carrying and conducting oneself; carriage; manner; mien
  2. a support or supporting part
    1. the act, power, or period of producing young, fruit, etc.
    2. ability to produce
    3. anything borne or produced, as a crop, fruit, etc.
  3. an enduring; endurance
    1. direction relative to one's own position or to the compass
    2. position, as of a ship, established by determining the bearing from it of several known points
    3. awareness or recognition of one's position or situation to lose one's bearings
  4. relevant meaning; application; relation the evidence had no bearing on the case
  5. Archit. the part of a lintel or beam that rests on supports
  6. Heraldry any figure on the field; charge
  7. Mech. any part of a machine in or on which another part revolves, slides, etc.

adjective

that bears, or supports, weight a bearing wall

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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