bear

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bear is one of the 1000 most common headwords.
be - bear - beat

Pronunciation[change]

Noun[change]

Singular
bear

Plural
bears

  1. (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.
  2. (figurative) Someone who acts rough and lacks manners could be called a bear.
  3. (slang) (countable) A large, hairy, homosexual man is called a bear.

Verb[change]

Plain form
bear

Third-person singular
bears

Past tense
bore

Past participle
born

Present participle
bearing

Plain form
bear

Third-person singular
bears

Past tense
bore

Past participle
borne

Present participle
bearing

  1. (transitive) If bears , holds up.
    This wall bears half the weight of the roof.
    The chieftain bears a spear.
  2. (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.
  3. (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.
  4. (transitive) (usually passive) If something is born, it is newly created.
    This idea was born out of boredom.
  5. (transitive) If something bears fruit, flowers, etc., it grows them.
    This apple tree is 100 years old, it does not bear apples anymore.
  6. (transitive) If bears , holds on the surface.
    Peter bears a small scar on his forehead.
    The flag bore a white lion.
    The sign bears the words "Hey there!".

Synonyms[change]

Related words[change]