bearing
[ber′iŋ]
- 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.
noun
- way of carrying and conducting oneself; carriage; manner; mien
- a support or supporting part
- the act, power, or period of producing young, fruit, etc.
- ability to produce
- anything borne or produced, as a crop, fruit, etc.
- an enduring; endurance
- direction relative to one's own position or to the compass
- position, as of a ship, established by determining the bearing from it of several known points
- 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
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
noun
- The manner in which one carries or conducts oneself: the poise and bearing of a champion.
- 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.
- Awareness of one's position or situation relative to one's surroundings. Often used in the plural: 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.
Architecture Designed to support structural weight: a bearing wall.
bearing
Variant of bear
transitive verb bore, borne or born, bearing
- to hold and take along; carry; transport
- 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
- to undergo successfully; withstand; endure: her work won't bear scrutiny
- 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: 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
- to lie in a given direction: the lighthouse bears due east
- to point or be aimed toward: with on or upon: artillery deployed to bear on the fort
- 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
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.