bear Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun massive plantigrade carnivorous or omnivorous mammals with long shaggy coats and strong claws
  2. noun an investor with a pessimistic market outlook; an investor who expects prices to fall and so sells now in order to buy later at a lower price
  3. verb have
    • bear a resemblance
    • bear a signature
  4. verb cause to be born
    have; deliver; birth; give birth.
    • My wife had twins yesterday!
  5. verb put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    stomach; brook; support; put up; tolerate; abide; endure; stick out; suffer; digest; stand.
    • I cannot bear his constant criticism
    • The new secretary had to endure a lot of unprofessional remarks
    • he learned to tolerate the heat
    • She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage
  6. verb move while holding up or supporting
    • Bear gifts
    • bear a heavy load
    • bear news
    • bearing orders
  7. verb bring forth, "The apple tree bore delicious apples this year"
    turn out.
    • The unidentified plant bore gorgeous flowers
  8. verb take on as one's own the expenses or debts of another person
    assume; take over; accept.
    • I'll accept the charges
    • She agreed to bear the responsibility
  9. verb contain or hold; have within
    carry; hold; contain.
    • The jar carries wine
    • The canteen holds fresh water
    • This can contains water
  10. verb bring in
    pay; yield.
    • interest-bearing accounts
    • How much does this savings certificate pay annually?
  11. verb have on one's person
    wear.
    • He wore a red ribbon
    • bear a scar
  12. verb behave in a certain manner
    acquit; comport; behave; conduct; carry; deport.
    • She carried herself well
    • he bore himself with dignity
    • They conducted themselves well during these difficult times
  13. verb have rightfully; of rights, titles, and offices
    hold.
    • She bears the title of Duchess
    • He held the governorship for almost a decade
  14. verb support or hold in a certain manner
    carry; hold.
    • She holds her head high
    • He carried himself upright
  15. verb be pregnant with
    carry; gestate; have a bun in the oven; expect.
    • She is bearing his child
    • The are expecting another child in January
    • I am carrying his child

WordNet

Bear transitive verb
Etymology
OE. beren, AS. beran, beoran, to bear, carry, produce; akin to D. baren to bring forth, G. gebären, Goth. baíran to bear or carry, Icel. bera, Sw. bära, Dan. bære, OHG. beran, peran, L. ferre to bear, carry, produce, Gr. , OSlav brati to take, carry, OIr. berim I bear, Skr. bh to bear. Cf. Fertile.
Wordforms
imperfect Bore (formerly Bare ); past participle Born Borne (); present participle & verbal noun Bearing
Definitions
  1. To support or sustain; to hold up.
  2. To support and remove or carry; to convey.
    I 'll bear your logs the while. Shak.
  3. To conduct; to bring; -- said of persons. Obs.
    Bear them to my house. Shak.
  4. To possess and use, as power; to exercise.
    Every man should bear rule in his own house. Esther i. 22.
  5. To sustain; to have on (written or inscribed, or as a mark), as, the tablet bears this inscription.
  6. To possess or carry, as a mark of authority or distinction; to wear; as, to bear a sword, badge, or name.
  7. To possess mentally; to carry or hold in the mind; to entertain; to harbor Dryden.
    The ancient grudge I bear him. Shak.
  8. To endure; to tolerate; to undergo; to suffer.
    Should such a man, too fond to rule alone, Bear, like the Turk, no brother near the throne. Pope.
    I cannot bear The murmur of this lake to hear. Shelley.
    My punishment is greater than I can bear. Gen. iv. 13.
  9. To gain or win. Obs.
    Some think to bear it by speaking a great word. Bacon.
    She was . . . found not guilty, through bearing of friends and bribing of the judge. Latimer.
  10. To sustain, or be answerable for, as blame, expense, responsibility, etc.
    He shall bear their iniquities. Is. liii. 11.
    Somewhat that will bear your charges. Dryden.
  11. To render or give; to bring forward. "Your testimony bear" Dryden.
  12. To carry on, or maintain; to have. "The credit of bearing a part in the conversation." Locke.
  13. To admit or be capable of; that is, to suffer or sustain without violence, injury, or change.
    In all criminal cases the most favorable interpretation should be put on words that they can possibly bear. Swift.
  14. To manage, wield, or direct. "Thus must thou thy body bear." Shak. Hence: To behave; to conduct.
    Hath he borne himself penitently in prison ? Shak.
  15. To afford; to be to ; to supply with.
    is faithful dog shall bear him company. Pope.
  16. To bring forth or produce; to yield; as, to bear apples; to bear children; to bear interest.
    Here dwelt the man divine whom Samos bore. Dryden.
    ✍ In the passive form of this verb, the best modern usage restricts the past participle born to the sense of brought forth, while borne is used in the other senses of the word. In the active form, borne alone is used as the past participle. Syn. -- To uphold; sustain; maintain; support; undergo; suffer; endure; tolerate; carry; convey; transport; waft.
Bear intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To produce, as fruit; to be fruitful, in opposition to barrenness.
    This age to blossom, and the next to bear. Dryden.
  2. To suffer, as in carrying a burden.
    But man is born to bear. Pope.
  3. To endure with patience; to be patient.
    I can not, can not bear. Dryden.
  4. To press; -- with on or upon, or against.
    These men bear hard on the suspected party. Addison.
  5. To take effect; to have influence or force; as, to bring matters to bear.
  6. To relate or refer; -- with on or upon; as, how does this bear on the question?
  7. To have a certain meaning, intent, or effect.
    Her sentence bore that she should stand a certain time upon the platform. Hawthorne.
  8. To be situated, as to the point of compass, with respect to something else; as, the land bears N. by E.
Bear noun
Definitions
  1. A bier. Obs. Spenser.
Bear noun
Etymology
OE. bere, AS. bera; akin to D. beer, OHG. bero, pero, G. bär, Icel. & Sw. björn, and possibly to L. fera wild beast, Gr. beast, Skr. bhalla bear.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) Any species of the genus Ursus, and of the closely allied genera. Bears are plantigrade Carnivora, but they live largely on fruit and insects. The European brown bear (U. arctos), the white polar bear (U. maritimus), the grizzly bear (U. horribilis), the American black bear, and its variety the cinnamon bear (U. Americanus), the Syrian bear (Ursus Syriacus), and the sloth bear, are among the notable species.
  2. (Zoöl.) An animal which has some resemblance to a bear in form or habits, but no real affinity; as, the woolly bear; ant bear; water bear; sea bear.
  3. (Astron.) One of two constellations in the northern hemisphere, called respectively the Great Bear and the Lesser Bear, or Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
  4. Metaphorically: A brutal, coarse, or morose person.
  5. (Stock Exchange) A person who sells stocks or securities for future delivery in expectation of a fall in the market. ✍ The bears and bulls of the Stock Exchange, whose interest it is, the one to depress, and the other to raise, stocks, are said to be so called in allusion to the bear's habit of pulling down, and the bull's of tossing up.
  6. (Mach.) A portable punching machine.
  7. (Naut.) A block covered with coarse matting; -- used to scour the deck.
Bear transitive verb
Definitions
  1. (Stock Exchange) To endeavor to depress the price of, or prices in; as, to bear a railroad stock; to bear the market.
Bear, Bere noun (Also<
  • Bear
  • Bere
)
Etymology
AS. bere. See Barley.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) Barley; the six-rowed barley or the four-rowed barley, commonly the former (Hord. vulgare). Obs. except in North of Eng. and Scot.

Webster 1913