bear

1 verb past tense bore past participle borne (T)

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