bear
Appearance
Pronunciation
[change]- (UK) IPA (key): /bɛə/, SAMPA: /bE@/
- (US) IPA (key): /bɛɚ/, SAMPA: /bE@r/
Audio (US) (file) - Homophone: bare
Noun
[change]- (countable) A bear is a big animal with a short tail. They either eat only meat or meat and plants. There are many different types of bears, for example brown bears and polar bears.
- Polar bears are white.
- Grizzly bears live in North America.
- (figurative) Someone who acts rough and lacks manners could be called a bear.
- (slang) (countable) A large, hairy, homosexual man is called a bear.
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A brown bear
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A black bear
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A polar bear
Verb
[change]
Plain form |
Third-person singular |
Past tense |
Past participle |
Present participle |
Plain form |
Third-person singular |
Past tense |
Past participle |
Present participle |
- (transitive) If bears , holds up.
- (transitive) If someone bears something bad, they accept it or deal with it.
- He has to bear insults because of his appearance.
- I cannot bear looking at the news.
- The pain is so bad, I can hardly bear it.
- (transitive) (usually passive) If a baby is born, it comes out of its mother.
- The woman bore a little boy.
- He was born on October 22, 1983.
- (transitive) (usually passive) If something is born, it is newly created.
- This idea was born out of boredom.
- (transitive) If something bears fruit, flowers, etc., it grows them.
- This apple tree is 100 years old, it does not bear apples anymore.
- (transitive) If bears , holds on the surface.