Bear (bâr) , transitive verb
[Old English beren, Anglo-Saxon beran, beoran, to bear, carry, produce; akin to Dutch baren to bring forth, German gebaren, Gothic baíran to bear or carry, Icelandic bera, Swedish bara, Danish bare, Old High German beran, peran, Latin ferre to bear, carry, produce, Greek fe`rein, OSlav. brati to take, carry, OIr. berim I bear, Sanskrit bhr to bear. r92. Compare Fertile.]
1.
To support or sustain; to hold up.
2.
To support and remove or carry; to convey.
I 'll bear your logs the while. — Shakespeare
3.
To conduct; to bring; -- said of persons.
[Obsolete] Bear them to my house. — Shakespeare
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. — Shakespeare
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.
[Obsolete] 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.
To behave; to conduct.
Thus must thou thy body bear. — Shakespeare
Hath he borne himself penitently in prison? — Shakespeare
15.
To afford; to be to; to supply with.
His 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.
Collocations (8)
To bear down , (a) To force into a lower place; to carry down; to depress or sink. His nose,... large as were the others, bore them down into insignificance. — Marryat (b) To overthrow or crush by force; as, to bear down an enemy.
To bear a hand (Nautical) , (a) To help; to give assistance. To make haste; to be quick.
To bear in hand , to keep (one) up in expectation, usually by promises never to be realized; to amuse by false pretenses; to delude. [Obsolete] How you were borne in hand, how crossed. — Shakespeare
To bear in mind , to remember.
To bear off (Nautical) , (a) To restrain; to keep from approach. (b) (Naut.) To remove to a distance; to keep clear from rubbing against anything; as, to bear off a blow; to bear off a boat. (c) To gain; to carry off, as a prize. To remove from the backgammon board into the home when the position of the piece and the dice provide the proper opportunity; -- the goal of the game is to bear off all of one's men before the opponent.
To bear one hard , to owe one a grudge. [Obsolete] Casar doth bear me hard. — Shakespeare
To bear out , (a) To maintain and support to the end; to defend to the last. Company only can bear a man out in an ill thing. — South (b) To corroborate; to confirm.
To bear up , to support; to keep from falling or sinking. Religious hope bears up the mind under sufferings. — Addison
Bear (bâr) , noun
[Old English bere, Anglo-Saxon bera; akin to Dutch beer, Old High German bero, pero, German bar, Icelandic & Swedish bjorn, and possibly to Latin fera wild beast, Greek fh`r beast, Sanskrit bhalla bear.]
1.
(Zoology) 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 (Ursus arctos), the white polar bear (Ursus maritimus), the grizzly bear (Ursus horribilis), the American black bear, and its variety the cinnamon bear (Ursus Americanus), the Syrian bear (Ursus Syriacus), and the sloth bear, are among the notable species.
2.
(Zoology) 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.
(Astronomy) 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.
(Machinery) A portable punching machine.
7.
(Nautical) A block covered with coarse matting; -- used to scour the deck.
Collocations (5)
Australian bear (Zoology) , See Koala. Bear baiting , the sport of baiting bears with dogs.
Bear caterpillar (Zoology) , the hairy larva of a moth, esp. of the genus Euprepia.
Bear garden , (a) A place where bears are kept for diversion or fighting. (b) Any place where riotous conduct is common or permitted. — M. Arnold
Bear leader , one who leads about a performing bear for money; hence, a facetious term for one who takes charge of a young man on his travels.