Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - bear

~1 v past tense bore past participle borne 1 can't bear a) to dislike something or someone so much that they make you very annoyed or impatient  (Oh, I can't bear that man - he really irritates me! | I just can't bear that kind of selfishness. | can't bear sb doing sth)  (He can't bear people smoking while he's eating.) b) to be so upset about something that you feel unable to accept it or let it happen  (Please don't leave me all alone. I couldn't bear it. | can't bear the thought of)  (We just couldn't bear the thought of selling the farm. | can't bear to do sth)  (Alison couldn't bear to leave and cried all the way to the airport.) 2 bear in mind (that) to remember a fact or piece of information that is important or could be useful in the future  (Bearing in mind that he's only ten, I think he did very well. | I think that's excellent advice to bear in mind.) 3 »BE BRAVE« to bravely accept or deal with a painful or unpleasant situation  (She bore the pain with tremendous courage. | Listening to their screams was more than we could bear. | grin and bear it (=accept something unpleasant without complaining))  (It's no good moaning - you'll just have to grin and bear it.) 4 bear the costs/burden/expense etc formal to pay for something  (As usual, the poorest members of society are bearing the burden of tax increases.) 5 bear responsibility/the blame etc formal to be responsible, accept the blame etc for something  (In this case, the victim must bear some responsibility for the crime.) 6 »SUPPORT« to support the weight of something  (I don't think the table is strong enough to bear your weight. | a load-bearing wall) 7 doesn't bear thinking about so unpleasant or shocking that you prefer not to think about it  (The long-term consequences of a nuclear leak don't bear thinking about.) 8 bear a resemblance/relation etc to to be similar to or connected with someone or something else  (George doesn't bear much resemblance to his father. | The things she says bear little relation to what she actually does.) 9 bear the strain/pressure etc to be strong enough or firm enough to continue despite problems  (She suddenly became a big star, and their marriage was unable to bear the strain.) 10 bear the brunt of to have to accept the most difficult or damaging part of something  (It's the junior staff who will bear the brunt of the redundancies.) 11 bear (sb) a grudge to continue to feel annoyed about something that someone did a long time ago  (Despite her treatment of him over the years, he bears her no grudges.) 12 bear fruit a) if a plan, decision etc bears fruit, it is successful, especially after a long period of time  (Our careful investments were finally bearing fruit.) b) if a tree bears fruit, it produces fruit 13 »SHOW SIGNS OF« to show physical or emotional signs of a past experience  (Jim proudly bears the scars of his rugby days.) 14 not bear examination/inspection etc to not be suitable or good enough to be tested or examined thoroughly  (This line of argument doesn't bear much examination.) 15 bring influence/pressure etc to bear (on) to use your influence or power to get what you want  (The tobacco companies are bringing pressure to bear on the government to stop the advertising ban.) 16 bear witness to formal to show that something is true or exists  (Her latest film bears witness to her versatility as a director.) 17 bear right/left to turn towards the right of left  (Bear left at the crossroads. | The road bears round to the right.) 18 »BABY« formal to give birth to a baby  (bear sb a child/son/daughter (=have their baby))  (She bore him three sons.) 19 bear yourself formal to walk, stand etc in a particular way, especially when this shows your character  (Throughout the trial, she bore herself with great dignity.) 20 »CARRY« literary to carry someone or something, especially something important  (The emperor was borne along in a sedan chair. | A messenger arrived, bearing a message from the prince.) 21 »WIND/WATER« literary if the wind, sea, or air bears something, it moves it along  (The sound of music was borne along on the wind.) 22 »SIGN/MARK« formal to have or show a sign or mark  (The letter bore no signature.) 23 »NAME/TITLE« formal to have a particular name or title  (The chest bears the name of Chippendale.) 24 bear sb no malice/ill will etc formal not to feel angry towards someone bear down ~  phrasal verb 1 bear down on - to move quickly towards someone in a threatening way  (His aunt bore down on him and insisted he joined them for dinner. | A powerboat was bearing down on us.) 2 to use all your strength and effort to push or press down on something 3 T bear someone/something down) formal to defeat a person or deal successfully with a difficult situation bear on/upon sth ~ phr v formal to have a connection with something bear sb/sth out ~ phr v if facts or information bear out a claim, story, opinion etc, they help to prove that it is true  (Recent evidence bears out the idea that students learn best in small groups. | Tell them what really happened. I'll bear you out.) bear up ~ phr v to show courage or determination during a difficult or unpleasant time  (How has he been bearing up since the accident?) bear with sb/sth ~ phr v 1 bear with me spoken used to ask someone politely to wait while you find out information, finish what you are doing etc  (Bear with me a minute, and I'll check if Mr Garrard's in.) 2 to be patient or continue to do something difficult or unpleasant  (I tried to bear with her tempers.) ~2 n 1 a large strong animal with thick fur that eats flesh, fruit, and insects  (- see also teddy bear, polar bear) 2 technical someone who sells shares share2 (6) or goods when they expect the price to fall  (a bear market (=when the value of business shares is falling)) 3 informal a big man who is rough or bad-tempered 4 be like a bear with a sore head informal to be rude to people because you are feeling bad-tempered