bear¹ (bâr)

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[Middle English beren, from Old English beran.]

verb: bore (bôr, bōr), borne (bôrn, bōrn) or born (bôrn), bear·ing, bears. 

transitive verb 

1. To hold up; support.
2. To carry from one place to another; transport.
3. To carry in the mind; harbor: bear a grudge.
4. To transmit at large; relate: bearing glad tidings.
5. To have as a visible characteristic: bore a scar on the left arm.
6. To have as a quality; exhibit: “A thousand different shapes it bears” (Abraham Cowley)
7. To carry (oneself) in a specified way; conduct: She bore herself with dignity.
8. To be accountable for; assume: bearing heavy responsibilities.
9. To have a tolerance for; endure: couldn't bear his lying.
10. To call for; warrant: This case bears investigation.
11. To give birth to: bore six children in five years.
12. To produce; yield: plants bearing flowers.
13. To offer; render: I will bear witness to the deed.
14. To move by or as if by steady pressure; push: “boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

intransitive verb 

1. To yield fruit; produce: peach trees that bear every summer.
2. To have relevance; apply: They studied the ways in which the relativity theory bears on the history of science.
3. To exert pressure, force, or influence.
4. 1. To force oneself along; forge.
   2. To endure something with tolerance and patience: Bear with me while I explain matters.
5. To extend or proceed in a specified direction: The road bears to the right at the bottom of the hill.

phrasal verbs

bear down

To advance in a threatening manner: The ship bore down on our canoe.

To apply maximum effort and concentration: If you really bear down, you will finish the task.

bear out

To prove right or justified; confirm: The test results bear out our claims.

bear up

To withstand stress, difficulty, or attrition: The patient bore up well during the long illness.

idioms

bear down on

To effect in a harmful or adverse way: Financial pressures are bearing down on them.

bear fruit

To come to a satisfactory conclusion or to fruition.

bear in mind

To hold in one's mind; remember: Bear in mind that bridges freeze before roads.

usage note

Usage Note: Thanks to the vagaries of English spelling, bear has two past participles: born and borne. Traditionally, born is used only in passive constructions referring to birth: I was born in Chicago. For all other uses, including active constructions referring to birth, borne is the standard form: She has borne both her children at home. I have borne his insolence with the patience of a saint.

synonyms:

bear¹endure, stand, abide, suffer, tolerate These verbs mean to withstand something difficult or painful. Bear pertains broadly to the capacity to withstand: “Those best can bear reproof who merit praise” (Alexander Pope) Endure specifies a continuing capacity to face pain or hardship: “Human life is everywhere a state in which much is to be endured and little to be enjoyed” (Samuel Johnson) Stand implies resoluteness of spirit: Actors who can't stand criticism shouldn't perform in public. Abide and suffer suggest the capacity to withstand patiently: She couldn't abide fools. He suffered their insults in silence. Tolerate, when applied to something other than pain, connotes reluctant acceptance: “A decent . . . examination of the acts of government should be not only tolerated, but encouraged” (William Henry Harrison)

See also: convey

See also: produce