bear1
• verb (past bore; past part. borne) 1 carry. 2 have as a quality or visible mark. 3 support (a weight). 4 (bear oneself) behave in a specified manner: she bore herself with dignity. 5 manage to tolerate; endure: I can’t bear it. 6 (cannot bear) strongly dislike. 7 give birth to (a child). 8 (of a tree or plant) produce (fruit or flowers). 9 turn and proceed in a specified direction: bear left. — PHRASES bear down on approach in a purposeful or intimidating manner. bear fruit yield positive results. bear someone a grudge nurture a feeling of resentment against someone. bear in mind remember and take into account. bear on be relevant to. bear out support or confirm. bear up remain cheerful in difficult circumstances. bear with be patient or tolerant with. bear witness (or testimony) to testify to. be borne in upon come to be realized by. bring to bear 1 prepare and use to effect. 2 aim (a weapon). — ORIGIN Old English.
Perform another search of the Compact Oxford English Dictionary
About this dictionary
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English contains 145,000 words, phrases, and definitions.
Find out more about Oxford's range of English dictionaries
Sign up for the AskOxford Word of the Day
Search the Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
Search the Concise Dictionary of First Names
| 
