Bearing dictionary definition

bearing

[ber′iŋ]

Use bearing in a sentence

noun

The definition of bearing is the way in which a person conducts himself.
An example of bearing is a person staying positive even though he lost his job.

bearing

noun

way of carrying and conducting oneself; carriage; manner; mien
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.
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
relevant meaning; application; relation: the evidence had no bearing on the case
Archit. the part of a lintel or beam that rests on supports
Heraldry any figure on the field; charge
Mech. any part of a machine in or on which another part revolves, slides, etc.

adjective

that bears, or supports, weight: a bearing wall

bearing

noun

The manner in which one carries or conducts oneself: the poise and bearing of a champion. See Synonyms at behavior.
a. A machine or structural part that supports another part.
b. A device that supports, guides, and reduces the friction of motion between fixed and moving machine parts.
Something that supports weight.
The part of an arch or beam that rests on a support.
a. The act, power, or period of producing fruit or offspring.
b. The quantity produced; yield.
Direction, especially angular direction measured from one position to another using geographical or celestial reference lines.
often bearings Awareness of one's position or situation relative to one's surroundings: lost my bearings after taking the wrong exit.
Relevant relationship or interconnection: Those issues have no bearing on our situation.
Heraldry A charge or device on a field.

adjective

Architecture Designed to support structural weight: a bearing wall.

bearing

Adjective

(not comparable)

Of a beam, column, or other device, carrying weight or load.
That's a bearing wall.

Noun

(plural bearings)

A mechanical device that supports another part and/or reduces friction.
(navigation, nautical) The horizontal angle between the direction of an object and another object, or between it and that of true north; a heading or direction.
Relevance; a relationship or connection.
That has no bearing on this issue.
One's posture, demeanor, or manner.
She walks with a confident, self-assured bearing.
(in the plural) Direction or relative position.
(architecture) That part of any member of a building which rests upon its supports.
A lintel or beam may have four inches of bearing upon the wall.
(architecture) The portion of a support on which anything rests.
(architecture, proscribed) The unsupported span.
The beam has twenty feet of bearing between its supports.
(heraldry) Any single emblem or charge in an escutcheon or coat of arms.

Verb

Present participle of bear.

Suffix

-bearing

That bears (whatever this combining form combines with).

bearing

Variant of bear

transitive verb

bore, borne or born, bearing

1. to hold and take along; carry; transport
2. to hold in the mind: to bear a secret
to possess as a part, characteristic, attribute, etc.; have or show: the letter bore his signature
to give birth to: the passive past participle in this sense is born when by does not follow
to bring forth; produce or yield: fruit-bearing trees, coal-bearing strata
to support or hold up; sustain
to sustain the burden of; take on; take care of: to bear the cost
1. to undergo successfully; withstand; endure: her work won't bear scrutiny
2. to put up with; tolerate: she can't bear him
to call for; require: his actions bear watching
to carry or conduct (oneself)
to carry over or hold (a sentiment): to bear a grudge
to bring and tell (a message, tales, etc.)
to move or push as if carrying: the crowd bore us along
to give, offer, or supply: to bear witness

Origin of bear

Middle English beren ; from Old English beran ; from Indo-European base an unverified form bher-, to carry, bring from source Classical Latin ferre, Classical Greek pherein, Sanskrit bharati, (he) bears

intransitive verb

to be productive: the tree bears well
1. to lie in a given direction: the lighthouse bears due east
2. to point or be aimed toward: with on or upon: artillery deployed to bear on the fort
3. to move in a given direction: bear right at the corner
to have bearing (on); have a relation: his story bears on the crime
to tolerate; put up patiently (with)
to be oppressive; weigh: grief bears heavily on her

bear Idioms

bear a hand

to give help
Naut. get to work!help out!work faster!

bear down

to press or push down; exert pressure
to make a strong effort

bear down on

to press down on; exert pressure on
to make a strong effort toward accomplishing
to come or go toward; closely approach

bear out

to show to be true; support or confirm

bear up

to endure, as under a strain; keep up one's spirits

bring to bear on

or bring to bear upon

to cause to have an effect on: he brought his influence to bear on the lawmakers

Link/Cite

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