BEAR

bear

(noun) massive plantigrade carnivorous or omnivorous mammals with long shaggy coats and strong claws

bear

(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

wear, bear

(verb) have on one’s person; “He wore a red ribbon”; “bear a scar”

digest, endure, stick out, stomach, bear, stand, tolerate, support, brook, abide, suffer, put up

(verb) put up with something or somebody unpleasant; “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”

bear

(verb) move while holding up or supporting; “Bear gifts”; “bear a heavy load”; “bear news”; “bearing orders”

hold, carry, bear

(verb) support or hold in a certain manner; “She holds her head high”; “He carried himself upright”

bear, turn out

(verb) bring forth; “The apple tree bore delicious apples this year”; “The unidentified plant bore gorgeous flowers”

yield, pay, bear

(verb) bring in; “interest-bearing accounts”; “How much does this savings certificate pay annually?”

bear, take over, accept, assume

(verb) take on as one’s own the expenses or debts of another person; “I’ll accept the charges”; “She agreed to bear the responsibility”

bear, hold

(verb) have rightfully; of rights, titles, and offices; “She bears the title of Duchess”; “He held the governorship for almost a decade”

behave, acquit, bear, deport, conduct, comport, carry

(verb) behave in a certain manner; “She carried herself well”; “he bore himself with dignity”; “They conducted themselves well during these difficult times”

bear

(verb) have; “bear a resemblance”; “bear a signature”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Proper noun

Bear

A surname.

Anagrams

• Aber, Bare, BarĂ©, Brea, Reba, bare, brae, rabe

Etymology 1

Noun

bear (plural bears)

A large omnivorous mammal, related to the dog and raccoon, having shaggy hair, a very small tail, and flat feet; a member of family Ursidae.

Antonym: bull

Antonym: twink

(engineering) A portable punching machine.

(nautical) A block covered with coarse matting, used to scour the deck.

(cartomancy) The fifteenth Lenormand card.

(colloquial, US) Something difficult or tiresome; a burden or chore.

Synonyms

• (large omnivorous mammal): see bear

• (rough, uncouth person): see troublemaker

• (police officer): see police officer

Verb

bear (third-person singular simple present bears, present participle bearing, simple past and past participle beared)

(finance, transitive) To endeavour to depress the price of, or prices in.

Adjective

bear (not comparable)

(finance, investments) Characterized by declining prices in securities markets or by belief that the prices will fall.

Etymology 2

Verb

bear (third-person singular simple present bears, present participle bearing, simple past (archaic) bare or bore, past participle (see usage notes) born or borne)

(chiefly transitive) To carry or convey, literally or figuratively.

(transitive, of weapons, flags or symbols of rank, office, etc.) To carry upon one's person, especially visibly; to be equipped with.

(transitive, of garments, pieces of jewellery, etc.) To wear.

(transitive, rarely intransitive, of a woman or female animal) To carry (offspring in the womb), to be pregnant (with).

(transitive) To have or display (a mark or other feature).

(transitive, of a person or animal) To have (an appendage, organ, etc.) as part of the body; (of a part of the body) to have (an appendage).

(transitive) To carry or hold in the mind; to experience, entertain, harbour (an idea, feeling, or emotion).

(transitive, rare) To feel and show (respect, reverence, loyalty, etc.) to, towards, or unto a person or thing.

(transitive) To possess inherently (a quality, attribute, power, or capacity); to have and display as an essential characteristic.

(transitive) To give (written or oral testimony or evidence); (figurative) to provide or constitute (evidence or proof), give witness.

(transitive) To have (a certain meaning, intent, or effect).

(reflexive, transitive) To behave or conduct (oneself).

(transitive, rare) To possess and use, to exercise (power or influence); to hold (an office, rank, or position).

To support, sustain, or endure.

(transitive) To support or sustain; to hold up.

(now transitive outside certain set patterns such as 'bear with'; formerly also intransitive) To endure or withstand (hardship, scrutiny, etc.); to tolerate; to be patient (with).

(transitive) To sustain, or be answerable for (blame, expense, responsibility, etc.).

(transitive) To admit or be capable of (a meaning); to suffer or sustain without violence, injury, or change.

(transitive) To warrant, justify the need for.

To support, keep up, or maintain.

(transitive) To afford, to be something to someone, to supply with something.

(transitive) To carry on, or maintain; to have.

To press or impinge upon.

(intransitive, usually with on, upon, or against) To push, thrust, press.

(intransitive, figuratively) To take effect; to have influence or force; to be relevant.

(intransitive, military, usually with on or upon) Of a weapon, to be aimed at an enemy or other target.

To produce, yield, give birth to.

(transitive) To give birth to (someone or something) (may take the father of the direct object as an indirect object).

(transitive, less commonly intransitive) To produce or yield something, such as fruit or crops.

(intransitive, originally nautical) To be, or head, in a specific direction or azimuth (from somewhere).

(transitive, obsolete) To gain or win.

Usage notes

• The past participle of bear is usually borne

He could not have borne that load.

She had borne five children.

This is not to be borne!

• However, when bear means "to give birth to" literally or figuratively (e.g. create, be the result of), the passive past participle is born

She was born on May 3.

Racism is usually born out of a real or feared loss of power over a minority or a real or feared decrease in relative prosperity compared to that of the minority.

Born three years earlier, he was the eldest of his siblings.

• Both spellings have been used in the construction born(e) into the world/family and born(e) to someone (as a child). The borne spellings are more frequent in older and religious writings.

He was born(e) to Mr. Smith.

She was born(e) into the most powerful family in the city.

• In some colloquial speech, beared can be found for both the simple past and the past participle, although it is usually considered nonstandard and avoided in writing. Similarly, bore may be extended to the past participle; the same provisos apply for this form.

Synonyms

• (to put up with something): brook, endure; See also tolerate

Etymology 3

Noun

bear (uncountable)

Alternative spelling of bere.

Etymology 4

Noun

bear (uncountable)

(obsolete) A pillowcase; a fabric case or covering as for a pillow.

Anagrams

• Aber, Bare, BarĂ©, Brea, Reba, bare, brae, rabe

Source: Wiktionary


Bear, v. t. [imp. Bore (formerly Bare (); p. p. Born, Borne (p. pr. & vb. n. Bearing.] Etym: [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. sq. root92. Cf. 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. 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. 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.

Note: 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. 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. (a) To help; to give assistance. (b) (Naut.) 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. [Obs.] "How you were borne in hand, how crossed." Shak.

– To bear in mind, to remember.

– To bear off. (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 bear one hard, to owe one a grudge. [Obs.] "Cæsar doth bear me hard." Shak.

– 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.

Syn.

– To uphold; sustain; maintain; support; undergo; suffer; endure; tolerate; carry; convey; transport; waft.

Bear, v. i.

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. To bear against, to approach for attack or seizure; as, a lion bears against his prey. [Obs.] -- To bear away (Naut.), to change the course of a ship, and make her run before the wind.

– To bear back, to retreat. "Bearing back from the blows of their sable antagonist." Sir W. Scott.

– To bear down upon (Naut.), to approach from the windward side; as, the fleet bore down upon the enemy.

– To bear in with (Naut.), to run or tend toward; as, a ship bears in with the land.

– To bear off (Naut.), to steer away, as from land.

– To bear up. (a) To be supported; to have fortitude; to be firm; not to sink; as, to bear up under afflictions. (b) (Naut.) To put the helm up (or to windward) and so put the ship before the wind; to bear away. Hamersly.

– To bear upon (Mil.), to be pointed or situated so as to affect; to be pointed directly against, or so as to hit (the object); as, to bring or plant guns so as to bear upon a fort or a ship; the artillery bore upon the center.

– To bear up to, to tend or move toward; as, to bear up to one another.

– To bear with, to endure; to be indulgent to; to forbear to resent, oppose, or punish.

Bear, n.

Definition: A bier. [Obs.] Spenser.

Bear, n. Etym: [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.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Definition: Any species of the genus Ursus, and of the closely allied genera. Bears are plantigrade Carnivora, but they live largely on fruit and insects.

Note: 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.)

Definition: 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.)

Definition: 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)

Definition: A person who sells stocks or securities for future delivery in expectation of a fall in the market.

Note: 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.)

Definition: A portable punching machine.

7. (Naut.)

Definition: A block covered with coarse matting; -- used to scour the deck. Australian bear. (Zoöl.) See Koala.

– Bear baiting, the sport of baiting bears with dogs.

– Bear caterpillar (Zoöl.), 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.

Bear, v. t. (Stock Exchange)

Definition: To endeavor to depress the price of, or prices in; as, to bear a railroad stock; to bear the market.

Bear, Bere, n. Etym: [AS. bere. See Barley.] (Bot.)

Definition: Barley; the six-rowed barley or the four-rowed barley, commonly the former (Hord. vulgare). [Obs. except in North of Eng. and Scot.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

29 March 2024

FAULTFINDING

(adjective) tending to make moral judgments or judgments based on personal opinions; “a counselor tries not to be faultfinding”


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