TO BEAR

After a not-so-good night's sleep, I had a delicious cinnamon pancake breakfast. The cup of coffee that followed the nosh could elevate my pulse, and 72 seemed the highest it could induce in my woozy system. Anyway, I decided to continue my studies in the morning, so I buckled down to my Destination C1-C2 book with high expectations. However, the semi-self-conscious smirk on my face soon became a frown when I saw how many meanings there are to a couple of phrasal verbs and verbs. I'm okay with "take off" as it has six meanings, and I remember writing a short story using all these meanings, but "put in" is another multiple-meaning one that I need to memorise ardently. When I thought this would be the last ordeal today, I bumped into "to bear". I couldn't believe my eyes. I understand that each language is rich and has its own specialities. But why are there so many different or seemingly close meanings to one word? Anywho, the following list will contain what I found in the Online Oxford Dictionary under "to bear" and be the end of today's entry. Except for one more thing: Charlette opened a few new slots, so we'll get back to normal :)

accept / deal with

(used especially with can/could in negative sentences and questions)

to be able to accept and deal with something unpleasant - SYNONYM stand

• bear something The pain was almost more than he could bear.
• She bore it all with her usual patience.
• She couldn't bear the thought of losing him.
• bear doing something I can't bear having cats in the house.
• He can't bear being laughed at.
• bear to do something He can't bear to be laughed at.
• I can hardly bear to think about it.
• How can you bear to eat that stuff?
• bear somebody doing something I can't bear you doing that.

 

be responsible for something

[transitive] bear something (formal) 

to take responsibility for something

• She bore the responsibility for most of the changes.
• Do parents have to bear the whole cost of tuition fees?
• In the end it's consumers who bear the burden of higher prices.
• You shouldn't have to bear the blame for other people's mistakes.
• You must bear at least some responsibility for what has happened.

 

support weight

 [transitive] bear something to support the weight of somebody/something

• The ice is too thin to bear your weight.

 

show

[transitive] bear something (formal) to show something; to carry something so that it can be seen

• The document bore her signature.
• He was badly wounded in the war and still bears the scars.
• She bears little resemblance to (= is not much like)her mother.
• The title of the essay bore little relation to (= was not much connected with) the contents.

 

not be suitable

[transitive] not bear to not be suitable for something

• bear something Her later work does not bear comparison with her earlier novels (= because it is not nearly as good).
• The plan won't bear close inspection (= it will be found to be unacceptable when carefully examined).
• bear doing something The joke doesn't bear repeating (= because it is not funny or may offend people).
• His sufferings don't bear thinking about (= because they are so terrible).

 

negative feeling

[transitive] to have a feeling, especially a negative feeling

• bear something He bears no resentment towards them.
• He's borne a grudge against me ever since that day.
• bear somebody something He's borne me a grudge ever since that day.
• She bore him no ill will.

 

name

[transitive] bear something (formal) to have a particular name

• a family that bore an ancient and honoured name

 

carry

[transitive] bear somebody/something (old-fashioned or formal) to carry somebody/something, especially while moving

• three kings bearing gifts

 

yourself

[transitive] bear yourself well, etc. (formal) to move, behave or act in a particular way

• He bears himself (= stands, walks, etc.) proudly, like a soldier.
• She bore herself with dignity throughout the funeral.

 

child

[transitive] (formal) to give birth to a child

• bear something She was not able to bear children.
• bear somebody something She had borne him six sons.

 

of trees/plants

[transitive] bear something (formal) to produce flowers or fruit

• These trees take a long time to bear fruit.

 

turn

[intransitive] bear (to the) left, north, etc. to go or turn in the direction mentioned

• When you get to the fork in the road, bear right.

 

Idioms

bear arms

(old use) to be a soldier; to fight

 

bear fruit

to have a successful result

 

bear hard, heavily, severely, etc. on somebody

(formal) to be a cause of difficulty or worry to somebody

• Taxation bears heavily on us all.
• The burden of the tax bore most heavily on the poor.

 

bear/keep somebody/something in mind |bear/keep in mind that…

to remember somebody/something; to remember or consider that…

• You don't have to do anything about it now… just bear it in mind.

 

bear, take, etc. the brunt of something

to receive the main force of something unpleasant

• Schools will bear the brunt of cuts in government spending.

 

bear/give witness (to something)

to provide evidence of the truth of something

• The crowd of mourners at his funeral bore witness to the great affection in which he was held.
• The ancient temples bear silent witness to the passing dynasties.

 

be borne in on somebody

(formal, especially British English) to be realised by somebody, especially after a period of time

• It was gradually borne in on us that defeat was inevitable.

 

bring something to bear (on somebody/something)

(formal) to use energy, pressure, influence, etc. to try to achieve something or make somebody do something

• We must bring all our energies to bear upon the task.
• Pressure was brought to bear on us to finish the work on time.

 

grin and bear it

(only used as an infinitive and in orders) to accept pain or bad luck without complaining

• There's nothing we can do about it. We'll just have to grin and bear it.

 

have a (heavy) cross to bear

to have a difficult problem that makes you worried or unhappy but that you have to deal with

• We all have our crosses to bear.

 

Phrasal verbs

bear down on somebody/something

1. (British English) to move quickly towards somebody/something in a determined or frightening way
2. (especially North American English) to press on somebody/something

• Bear down on it with all your strength so it doesn't move.

 

bear on something

to relate to something

Synonym - affect

• These are matters that bear on the welfare of the community.
• information not bearing directly on his argument

 

bear (somebody/something) out

(especially British English) to show that somebody is right or that something is true

• The other witnesses will bear me out.
• The other witnesses will bear out what I say.

 

bear up (against/under something)

to remain as cheerful as possible during a difficult time

• He's bearing up well under the strain of losing his job.
• 'How are you?' 'Bearing up.'

 

bear with somebody/something

to be patient with somebody/something

• She's under a lot of strain. Just bear with her.
• If you will bear with me (= be patient and listen to me) a little longer, I'll answer your question.