bearlike

Variant of bear

bear definition

bear (ber)

transitive verb bore, borne or born, bearing bear′·ing

    1. to hold and take along; carry; transport
    2. to hold in the mind to bear a secret
  1. to possess as a part, characteristic, attribute, etc.; have or show the letter bore his signature
  2. to give birth to: the passive past participle in this sense is born when by does not follow
  3. to bring forth; produce or yield fruit-bearing trees, coal-bearing strata
  4. to support or hold up; sustain
  5. 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
  6. to call for; require his actions bear watching
  7. to carry or conduct (oneself)
  8. to carry over or hold (a sentiment) to bear a grudge
  9. to bring and tell (a message, tales, etc.)
  10. to move or push as if carrying the crowd bore us along
  11. to give, offer, or supply to bear witness

Etymology: ME beren < OE beran < IE base *bher-, to carry, bring > L ferre, Gr pherein, Sans bharati, (he) bears

intransitive verb

  1. 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
  2. to have bearing (on); have a relation his story bears on the crime
  3. to tolerate; put up patiently (with)
  4. to be oppressive; weigh grief bears heavily on her
bear Idioms

bear a hand

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

bear down

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

bear down on

  1. to press down on; exert pressure on
  2. to make a strong effort toward accomplishing
  3. 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

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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