bear

Ⅰ.

bear [1] ► 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.

● bear down on — Cf. ↑bear down on

● bear fruit — Cf. ↑bear fruit

● bear someone a grudge — Cf. ↑bear someone a grudge

● bear in mind — Cf. ↑bear in mind

● bear on — Cf. ↑bear on

● bear out — Cf. ↑bear out

● bear up — Cf. ↑bear up

● bear with — Cf. ↑bear with

● bear witness (or testimony) to — Cf. ↑bear witness to

● be borne in upon — Cf. ↑be borne in upon

● bring to bear — Cf. ↑bring to bear

ORIGIN Old English.

Ⅱ.

bear [2] ► NOUN 1) a large, heavy mammal with thick fur and a very short tail. 2) Stock Exchange a person who sells shares hoping to buy them back later at a lower price. Often contrasted with BULL(Cf. ↑bull). [ORIGIN: said to be from a proverb warning against ‘selling the bear's skin before one has caught the bear’.] 3) a rough or bad-mannered person.

● like a bear with a sore head — Cf. ↑like a bear with a sore head

ORIGIN Old English.