bear

bear

bear¹ [ber]

vt.

BORE, borne (see 3), bearing, bore, born [ME beren < OE beran < IE base * bher-, to carry, bring > L ferre, Gr pherein, Sans bharati, (he) bears]

1.

a) to hold and take along; carry; transport

b) to hold in the mind [to bear a secret]

2. to possess as a part, characteristic, attribute, etc.; have or show [the letter bore his signature]

3. to give birth to: the passive past participle in this sense is born when by does not follow

4. to bring forth; produce or yield [fruit-bearing trees, coal-bearing strata]

5. to support or hold up; sustain

6. to sustain the burden of; take on; take care of [to bear the cost]

7.

a) to undergo successfully; withstand; endure [her work won't bear scrutiny]

b) to put up with; tolerate [she can't bear him]

8. to call for; require [his actions bear watching]

9. to carry or conduct (oneself)

10. to carry over or hold (a sentiment) [to bear a grudge]

11. to bring and tell (a message, tales, etc.)

12. to move or push as if carrying [the crowd bore us along]

13. to give, offer, or supply [to bear witness]

vi.

1. to be productive [the tree bears well]

2.

a) to lie in a given direction [the lighthouse bears due east]

b) to point or be aimed toward: with on or upon [artillery deployed to bear on the fort]

c) to move in a given direction [bear right at the corner]

3. to have bearing (on); have a relation [his story bears on the crime]

4. to tolerate; put up patiently (with)

5. to be oppressive; weigh [grief bears heavily on her]

SYN.- CARRY

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bear a hand

1. to give help

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

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bear down

1. to press or push down; exert pressure

2. to make a strong effort

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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

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bear out

to show to be true; support or confirm

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bear up

to endure, as under a strain; keep up one's spirits

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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]

SYN.- BEAR¹ implies a putting up with something that distresses, annoys, pains, etc., without suggesting the way in which one sustains the imposition; SUFFER suggests passive acceptance of or resignation to that which is painful or unpleasant; ENDURE implies a holding up against prolonged pain, distress, etc. and stresses stamina or patience; TOLERATE and the more informal STAND both imply self-imposed restraint of one's opposition to what is offensive or repugnant; BROOK², a literary word, is usually used in the negative, suggesting determined refusal to put up with what is distasteful

bear² [ber]

n.

pl. bears or bear [ME bere < OE bera < IE * bheros, brown animal < base * bher-, brown (> BROWN, BEAVER¹, L fiber): orig. euphemism for taboo name prob. seen in L ursus]

1. any of a family (Ursidae) of large, heavy, omnivorous carnivores that walk flat on the soles of their feet and have shaggy fur and a very short tail: bears are native to temperate and arctic zones

2. a person who is clumsy, rude, gruff, churlish, etc.

3. [short for bearskin jobber < phr. to sell the bearskin, i.e., to sell the skin before the bear is caught] a person who believes prices on the stock or commodity markets are going to decline, esp. one who sells shares, etc. in the expectation of buying them later at a lower price: opposed to BULL¹ (sense 3)

☆ 4. Slang a difficult task [checking these computer files is a real bear]

adj.

falling in price [a bear market]

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be a bear for punishment

to be able to withstand much rough treatment; be rugged, tough, determined, etc.

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the Bear

the constellation Ursa Major or Ursa Minor

bearlike

adj.