Synonyms for bear down


Grammar : Verb
Spell : bair
Phonetic Transcription : bɛər


Définition of bear down

Origin :
  • Old English beran "to bear, bring; bring forth, produce; to endure, sustain; to wear" (class IV strong verb; past tense bær, past participle boren), from Proto-Germanic *beranan (cf. Old Saxon beran, Old Frisian bera, Old High German beran, German gebären, Old Norse bera, Gothic bairan "to carry, bear, give birth to"), from PIE root *bher- (1) meaning both "give birth" (though only English and German strongly retain this sense, and Russian has beremennaya "pregnant") and "carry a burden, bring" (see infer).
  • Ball bearings "bear" the friction. Many senses are from notion of "move onward by pressure." Old English past tense bær became Middle English bare; alternative bore began to appear c.1400, but bare remained the literary form till after 1600. Past participle distinction of borne for "carried" and born for "given birth" is from late 18c. To bear (something) in mind is from 1530s.
  • verb close in on
Example sentences :
  • Thus silently did the "Chesapeake" bear down upon her adversary.
  • Extract from : « The Naval History of the United States » by Willis J. Abbot.
  • It seemed to bear down on us suddenly in a great burning sheet.
  • Extract from : « For the Sake of the School » by Angela Brazil
  • They have refused, without exception, to bear down on the word how.
  • Extract from : « The Lost Art of Reading » by Gerald Stanley Lee
  • Nelson now hoisted the signal to bear down on them in two lines.
  • Extract from : « How Britannia Came to Rule the Waves » by W.H.G. Kingston
  • After a word or two with the officers, he signalled to bear down on the enemy in two lines.
  • Extract from : « The Lonely Island » by R.M. Ballantyne
  • Yet again, if one should see us, would she bear down upon us?
  • Extract from : « For Faith and Freedom » by Walter Besant
  • Im goin to loop that craft and bear down on them from abeam.
  • Extract from : « Dorothy Dixon and the Mystery Plane » by Dorothy Wayne
  • But if we really do bear down upon you, will you give us a sign that its all right?
  • Extract from : « Twos and Threes » by G. B. Stern
  • There is a power in Scripture which must bear down all before it.
  • Extract from : « The All-Sufficiency of Christ » by Charles Henry Mackintosh
  • I'll bear down on it when I talk to them in closing, and before then.
  • Extract from : « The Trial of Callista Blake » by Edgar Pangborn

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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019