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she says bears no relation to (=is very different from) the truth. | The baby bears no resemblance to its father. (=doesn't look like him) | His latest film bears witness to (=is proof of) his versatility. 4 [T] to suffer or accept (something unpleasant) without complaining; ENDURE: She bore the pain with great courage. | There's nothing we can do about it, so we'll just have to grin and bear it. | [+v-ing] I can't bear being kept waiting. | [#+to-v] I couldn't bear to listen any longer, so I left the room. ➔ see USAGE 5 [T] usually fml to give birth to: She bore/has borne three children. | [+obj(l)+obj(d)] She bore him a daughter. (=he was the father) | a woman of child-bearing age 6 [I;T] to produce (a crop or fruit): The tree is bearing a lot of apples this year. | (fig.) Her efforts to stage the production bore fruit – the play was an overnight success. 7 [I+adv/prep] to move in the stated direction: Cross the field, bear left, and you'll soon reach the village. 8 [T usually in negatives] to be suitable for; allow: Such weak arguments won't bear serious examination. | [+v-ing] His words don't bear repeating. | The consequences simply don't bear thinking about. (=are too terrible to think about) 9 [T] usually fml to keep (a feeling towards someone) in one's mind: to bear love for/hatred against somebody | Although they treated her badly she doesn't bear a grudge against them. | [+obj(l)+obj(d)] She doesn't bear them a grudge. 10 [T+obj+adv/ prep] fml to behave or hold (oneself) in a stated way; COMPORT: She bore herself with great dignity. 11 bring something to bear (on) to direct something, for example force or persuasion (on); EXERT: The government brought pressure to bear on the company to settle its dispute with the workers. 12 bear in mind to remember to consider; take account of: Admittedly she didn't make a very good job of it, but you must bear in mind that she was ill at the time. | Bear me in mind if you are thinking of buying tickets for that play.
USAGE Compare abide, bear, stand, tolerate, and endure. 1 Bear, stand, and abide are all used with 'can' in questions and with NEGATIVE words to express great dislike. I can't abide/bear/stand black coffee. | Abide is more formal and old-fashioned. 2 Bear, stand, and endure are also used for great physical pain or suffering. He bore/stood the pain as long as he could. Endure suggests pain that lasts for a long time: She had endured great pain for a number of years. 3 Tolerate is used about people or behaviour, but not about pain or suffering: I won't tolerate rudeness.
bear down phr v 1 [T[bear sbdy/sthg. ⇔ down]] fml to defeat; OVERWHELM: His determined efforts at last bore down all opposition. | borne down by poverty and deprivation 2 [I] to use all one's strength and effort: The driver bore down with all his strength to control the car when the wheels slipped.
bear down on/upon sbdy./sthg. phr v [T] to come towards forcefully and threateningly, especially at high speed: The enemy ship bore down on our small boat. | As soon as she saw him enter the room she bore down on him and insisted that he join her for dinner.
bear on/upon sthg. phr v [T] to have some connection with: How does your news bear on this case? ➔ see also BEARING
bear sthg. ⇔ out phr v [T] to support the truth of: The prisoner's story was borne out by his wife. | If you tell them what happened, I'll bear you out.
bear up phr v [I] to show courage or strength by continuing in spite of difficulties: She bore up bravely under her continual misfortunes. | Bear up! The news isn't so bad.
bear with sbdy./sthg. phr v [T] to show patience towards; PUT UP WITH: You must bear with his bad temper; he's very ill. | If you'll just bear with me for a couple of minutes I'll be able to give you an answer.
bear·able /'beərəbəl/ adj that can be borne or suffering; TOLERABLE: The pain was just bearable. | His increase in salary made life more bearable. ➔ opposite UNBEARABLE —bly adv
'bear claw n AmE a fruit-filled pastry with parallel cuts in the to top that look like CLAWS
beard¹ /'bɑːd||biərd/ n 1 hair on the face below the mouth, often including the jaws, chin, and neck: Men and goats have beards. | He has/wears a beard. | He's growing a beard. ➔ compare MOUSTACHE, WHISKERS 2 long hairs on a plant, as on BARLEY —ed adj: a tall bearded man —less adj
CULTURAL NOTE In the UK, people sometimes use the phrase 'beards and sandals' in a joking way to describe the type of people who are interested in protecting the environment, achieving peace, and eating ORGANIC food (=food produced naturally, without the use of chemicals). It is a STEREOTYPE used to make fun of people such as university teachers who people often think of as having beards and wearing SANDALS (=a light open shoe worn in warm weather).
beard² v [T] 1 especially BrE to oppose or deal with (someone) confidently or disrespectfully; CONFRONT: She bearded the committee and demanded an explanation. 2 beard the lion in his den lit to face someone confidently on their own ground: He's in his office, so let's beard the lion in his den now
Beards·ley, Au·brey /'brɛdzli,'brær-, 'ɔːbri/ (1872–98) a British ILLUSTRATOR (=someone who draws pictures with books) who is known for his black and white pictures with clear rounded lines
bear·er /'bɛərɛr/ n 1 (often in comb.) fml a person who bears or carries something: a bearer of bad news | the flagbearer | a pallbearer at a funeral 2 fml a person who holds a note or cheque for the payment of money to himself/herself: The banknote says 'payable to the bearer on demand'. 3 especially IndE and PakE a male servant
'bearer ,bond n a BOND that is not recorded as belonging to a particular person and is therefore considered to belong to whoever holds it
'bear hug n infml a rough tight EMBRACE
bear·ing /'beərɪŋ/ n 1 [S,U] the way a person holds their body or behaves; DEPORTMENT: an upright, proud bearing 2 [S;U(on)] connection with or influence on something: What you have said has no bearing on the subject. 3 [C] tech the part of a machine in which a turning rod is held, or which turns on a fixed rod ➔ see also BALL BEARING 4 [C] tech a direction or angle as shown by a COMPASS: to take a compass bearing | (fig.) In all this mass of details I'm afraid I've rather lost my bearings. (=become confused)
bear·ish /'beərɪʃ/ adj 1 rude; rough; bad-tempered 2 tech marked by, expecting, or tending to cause falling prices ➔ opposite BULLISH; see also BEAR¹ —ly adv —ness n [U]
'bear ,market n a situation in which prices on the STOCK MARKET (=the place where business shares are bought and sold) are falling ➔ compare BULL MARKET
bear·skin /'bɛə,skɪn|'ber-/ n 1 [C;U] the skin of a bear: a bearskin rug 2 [C] a tall black fur cap worn on ceremonial occasions by certain British soldiers
beast /biːst/ n 1 especially lit an animal, especially a four-footed one 2 derog a person (or sometimes a thing) that one does not like; BRUTE: Her husband was a real beast. | a beast of a job | You beast!
beast·ly /'biːstli/ adj infml very unpleasant; nasty: a beastly person/habit | beastly weather | I've had a beastly cold —beastly adv: It's beastly cold today. —liness n [U]
,beast of 'burden n fml or lit an animal, such as a horse or DONKEY, which carries things
beat¹ /biːt/ v beat, beaten /'biːtn/ or beat 1 [I+adv/prep;T] to hit again and again, especially with a stick or other hard instrument: His father beat him for being disobedient. | to beat a drum | The rain was beating against the windows. | The firefighters beat back the flames. | The mechanic beat out the dent in the car. (=removed it by beating) | The police beat the door down in order to get into the house. | waves beating against the shore | (fig.) The sun beat down (on them) all day. 2 [T(UP)] to mix with regular movements of a fork, spoon etc: Beat (up) the egg whites until they become stiff. 3 [I;T] to move regularly: The bird beat its wings rapidly. | You can hear its heart beating. 4 [T] to defeat; do better than: She beat me at tennis. | She's hoping to beat the world record. | The beaten finalists were given silver medals. | It beats me (=I can't understand) how he can have done it. | That strange story beats everything (I have ever heard). | You can't beat (=there is nothing better than) a good film. ➔ see WIN (USAGE) 5 [T(to)] to reach a place or succeed in doing something before (someone else): We left early to beat the rush-hour traffic. | We were hoping to get there first, but they beat us to it. 6 beat about the bush also beat around the