bore¹ /bör/

1. To pierce (something) so as to form a hole
2. To produce (a hole) by drilling, etc
3. To weary or annoy with tediousness (perh a different word: not known before mid-18c)

1. To form a hole or borehole by drilling or piercing
2. (of a racehorse or athlete) to push against other competitors (to gain advantage in a race) (also transitive verb)

1. A hole made by boring
2. The cavity of a tube
3. The diameter of the cavity of a tube
4. An artesian well (Aust)
5. A person, thing or activity that wearies
6. Something that causes annoyance, a nuisance (informal)

bored adjective

Wearied by tedious things

boreˈdom noun

Tedium

borˈer noun

1. A person or thing that bores
2. A name common to many animals, esp insects that pierce wood, rocks, etc

borˈing adjective

Causing boredom, tedious

1. The act of making a hole in anything
2. A hole made by boring
3. (in pl) the chips produced by boring

borˈingly adverb

borˈingness noun

boreˈhole noun

A bore made in the earth's crust for geological investigation or for water, oil, etc

bore² /bör/

A tidal flood that rushes with great violence up the estuaries of certain rivers, an eagre

bore³ /bör/ pat of bear¹

bear¹ /bār/

1. To carry
2. To have
3. To convey
4. To remove from the board in the final stage of the game (backgammon)
5. To sustain or support
6. To thrust or drive
7. To endure, tolerate
8. To admit of
9. To purport
10. To behave or conduct (oneself)
11. To bring forth, give birth to (pap born /börn/ in passive uses except with by)
12. To display on one's heraldic shield, to be entitled to (heraldry)

1. To suffer
2. To be patient
3. (with on or upon) to have reference to
4. To press (on or upon)
5. To lie in, or take, a direction
6. To be capable of sustaining weight
7. To be productive

1. A burden
2. Also (Spenser) a bier (see bier)

bearˈable adjective

Able to be borne or endured

bearˈableness noun

bearˈably adverb

bearˈer noun

1. A person who or that which bears
2. The actual holder of a cheque, etc
3. A person who helps to carry the coffin at a funeral, a pall-bearer
4. A carrier or messenger
5. Formerly in India, a personal, household or hotel servant

bearˈing noun

1. Demeanour
2. Direction
3. A supporting surface
4. Relation, relevance
5. A heraldic device or coat of arms
6. The part of a machine that bears friction, esp part of a shaft or axle and its support (sometimes in pl; see ball-bearing under ball¹)

bearer bill, bond, security, etc noun

A bond, etc which has been made out to be payable to the person in possession of it

bearing cloth noun (historical)

A gown worn at a child's baptism

bearing rein noun

A fixed rein between the bit and the saddle, by which a horse's head is held up and its neck made to arch

bear a hand see under hand

bear away

1. To sail away
2. To carry away

bear down

1. To overthrow
2. To press downwards
3. In childbirth, to exert downward muscular pressure
4. (with upon or towards) to sail with the wind (towards)
5. (with upon) to approach (someone or something) rapidly and purposefully

bear hard (Shakespeare)

To have ill-will to

bear hard or heavily upon (lit and figurative)

1. To press heavily on
2. To oppress, afflict

bear in hand

1. To make out, maintain (archaic)
2. To keep in expectation, to flatter someone's hopes (Shakespeare)

bear in mind

1. To remember (that)
2. To think of, take into consideration

bear in upon

(usu in passive) to impress upon, or to make realize, esp by degrees

bear out

To corroborate

bear up

To keep up one's spirits

bear up for

To sail towards (a place)

bear with

To make allowance for, be patient with

bear witness see witness

bring to bear

To bring into operation (against or upon)

find, get (or lose) one's bearings

To ascertain (or to become uncertain of) one's position or orientation

bear² /bār/

1. A heavy carnivorous animal with long shaggy hair and hooked claws
2. Also applied to other unrelated animals, such as the koala
3. A teddy bear
4. A person who sells stocks for delivery at a future date, anticipating a fall in price, opp to bull (the old phrase a bearskin jobber suggests an origin in the proverbial phrase, to sell the bearskin before one has caught the bear; stock exchange)
5. The name of two constellations, the Great Bear and the Little Bear (Ursa Major and Minor)
6. Any rude, rough or ill-mannered fellow

To act as a bear

To lower the price of (a stock) or depress (a market) by selling speculatively

bearˈish adjective

1. Like a bear in manners
2. Inclining towards, anticipating, a fall in price (stock exchange)

bearˈishly adverb

bearˈishness noun

bear-animalˈcule noun

A tardigrade, a kind of minute arthropod with four pairs of stumpy legs

bearˈ-baiting noun

The former sport of setting dogs to attack a bear

bearˈberry noun

1. A trailing plant (genus Arctostaphylos) of the family Ericaceae
2. Extended to various plants

bearˈbine noun

A bindweed

bearˈcat noun

The lesser or red panda

bear garden noun

1. An enclosure for bear-baiting or for exhibiting bears
2. A turbulent assembly

bear hug noun

1. A hold in which one wraps one's arms tightly around one's opponent's arms and upper body (wrestling)
2. A similar tight hug

bearˈ-lead transitive verb

To lead about, eg a performing bear, but also more gen to supervise, act as tutor to

bear market noun (stock exchange)

A market in which prices are falling

bear pit noun

An enclosure for bears

bear'sˈ-breech noun

Acanthus

bear'sˈ-ear noun

Auricula

bear'sˈ-foot noun

Black hellebore

bearˈskin noun

1. The pelt of a bear
2. A shaggy woollen cloth for overcoats
3. The high fur cap worn by the Guards in the UK

bearˈward noun

A warden or keeper of bears

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