bear1

Pronunciation: /bɛː/

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Definition of bear

verb (past bore /bɔː/; past participle borne /bɔːn/)

[with object]

1(of a person) carry:he was bearing a tray of brimming glasses the warriors bore lances tipped with iron
(of a vehicle or boat) convey (passengers or cargo):steamboats bear the traveller out of Kerrerra Sound
have or display as a visible mark or feature:many of the papers bore his flamboyant signature
be called by (a name or title):he bore the surname Tiller
(bear oneself) carry or conduct oneself in a specified manner:she bore herself with dignity

2support; carry the weight of:walls which cannot bear a stone vault
take responsibility for:no one likes to bear the responsibility for such decisions the expert’s fee shall be borne by the tenant
be able to accept or stand up to:it is doubtful whether either of these distinctions would bear scrutiny

3endure (an ordeal or difficulty):she bore the pain stoically
[with modal and negative] manage to tolerate (a situation or experience):she could hardly bear his sarcasm [with infinitive]:I cannot bear to see you hurt
(cannot bear someone/thing) strongly dislike:I can’t bear caviar

4give birth to (a child):she bore sixteen daughters [with two objects]:his wife had borne him a son
(of a tree or plant) produce (fruit or flowers): a squash that bears fruit shaped like cucumbers

5 [no object, with adverbial of direction] turn and proceed in a specified direction:bear left and follow the old drove road

Phrases

bear the brunt of: see brunt.
bear the burden of: suffer the consequences of: taxpayers bear the burden of government’s mistakes
bear fruit: yield positive results: plans for power-sharing may be about to bear fruit
bear a hand: archaic help in a task or enterprise.
bear something in mind: see mind.
bear someone malice (or ill will): [with negative] wish someone harm: he was only doing his job and I bore him no malice
bear a relation (or relationship) to: [with negative] be logically consistent with:the map didn’t seem to bear any relation to the roads
bear a resemblance (or similarity) to: resemble: the campus bore a faint resemblance to a military camp
bear witness (or testimony) to: testify to:little is left to bear witness to the past greatness of the city; state or show one’s belief in:people bearing witness to Jesus
be borne in on (or upon): come to be realized by:the folly of her action was borne in on her
not bear thinking about: be too terrible to contemplate: what had happened to her before dying did not bear thinking about

Phrasal Verbs

bear away: another way of saying .
bear down: (of a woman in labour) exert downwards pressure in order to push the baby out.
bear down on: move directly towards someone or something in a purposeful or intimidating manner: at a canter they bore down on the mass of men ahead; take strict measures to deal with:a commitment to bear down on inflation
bear off: Sailing change course away from the wind.
bear on: be relevant to (something):two kinds of theories which bear on literary studies; [with adverbial] be a burden on:the extension of VAT to domestic fuel will bear hard on the low-paid
bear something out: support or confirm something:this assumption is not borne out by any evidence
bear up: remain cheerful in the face of adversity:she’s bearing up remarkably well
bear with: be patient or tolerant with: bear with me a moment while I make a phone call

Origin:

Old English beran, of Germanic origin; from an Indo-European root shared by Sanskrit bharati, Greek pherein, and Latin ferre

Until the 18th century borne and born were simply variant forms of the past participle of bear, used interchangeably with no distinction in meaning. By around 1775, however, the present distinction in use had become established. At that time borne became the standard past participle used in all the senses listed in this dictionary entry, e.g. she has borne you another son, the findings have been borne out, and so on. Born became restricted to just one very common use, which remains the case today: in the passive, without by, as the standard, neutral way to refer to birth: she was born in 1965, he was born lucky, or I was born and bred in Gloucester.

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bear1

verb (past bore /bɔː/; past participle borne /bɔːn/)

Phrases

bear the brunt of

bear the burden of

bear fruit

bear a hand

bear something in mind

bear someone malice (or ill will)

bear a relation (or relationship) to

bear a resemblance (or similarity) to

bear witness (or testimony) to

be borne in on (or upon)

not bear thinking about

Phrasal Verbs

bear away

bear down

bear down on

bear off

bear on

bear something out

bear up

bear with

Origin:

bear in other Oxford dictionaries

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