bear
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The meat of this animal.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
behrIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbɛɹ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
cookinguncountable
The meat of this animal.
figuratively
A rough, unmannerly, uncouth person.
Barley, especially four-rowed barley or six-rowed barley.
colloquialus
Something difficult or tiresome; a burden or chore.
Australia
A koala (bear).
verb
(now transitive outside certain set patterns such as 'bear with'; formerly also intransitive) To endure or withstand (hardship, scrutiny, etc.); to tolerate; to be patient (with).
To support, sustain, or endure.
transitive
To support or sustain; to hold up.
To produce, yield, give birth to.
transitive
To give (written or oral testimony or evidence); (figurative) to provide or constitute (evidence or proof), give witness.
transitive
To carry (weapons, flags or symbols of rank, office, etc.) upon one's person, especially visibly; to be equipped with (weapons, etc.).
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To carry or convey, literally or figuratively.
Used this way, bear is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- brook , more formal, and heavier in everyday conversation
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Relevant relation or interconnection.
Someone whose employment involves carrying something.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A wrestling hold with arms locked tightly around the opponent.
Keep in mind.
A market characterized by falling prices for securities.
Shrubby oak of southeastern United States usually forming dense thickets.
Remove from a certain place, environment, or mental or emotional state.
Be relevant to.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.