Dictionary

bear down en · VERB

Meanings

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see bear, down.
2. To steer away from the wind; to approach from windward.
3. (transitive) To push (someone) to the ground; to defeat, overcome.
4. (obsolete, transitive) To maintain one's position against (someone) in a debate; to stand one's ground against.
   • And they sayd unto her: thou arte mad. And she bare them doune that hit was even so. 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts:
5. (intransitive) To intensify one's efforts.
   • Will CAFTA pass? The White House is starting to bear down, making the argument that CAFTA is not only a good deal economically, but vital for the political development and security of the region. 2005 May 12, Sue Kirchhoff, “Central American Free Trade Agreement faces obstacles”, in USA Today:
   • It's 9:41, 58 degrees, and I'm flunking out. Time to bear down.
   • You can't really run faster or farther over the long haul simply by bearing down harder. You have to raise the level of your effort, then relax, and trust that preparation. 2009 January, James Applewhite, “Write a poem in THREE PHASES.”, in Writer, volume 122, number 1, pages 22–23:
   • When Furyk spots another Arizona alum on Tour, one of them will utter the official U of A exhortation, which dates to the 1920s, when on his deathbed the school's quarter-back urged the football team to "bear down." Few on Tour bear down like Furyk. He has his plan and sticks to it. 2003 October, Cameron Morfit, “A Furious Focus; Call his swing whatever you want--Jim Furyk's approach to life and golf is anything but loopy”, in Golf Magazine, volume 45, number 10, page 106:
6. (intransitive, with-on) To approach in a determined manner.
   • Huth headed wide inside two minutes, Andy Wilkinson blasted over from Shotton's cut-back and Jones was squeezed out when bearing down on goal. 2011 November 3, David Ornstein, “Macc Tel-Aviv 1 - 2 Stoke”, in BBC Sport:
7. (intransitive) To exert downward pressure on one's abdomen, as in giving birth, forcing out feces, and some similar bodily maneuvers.

Forms

Translations (14)

fi väittää vastaan (to maintain one's position against (someone) in a debate) · fi selättää (to push (someone) to the ground; to defeat, overcome) · fi päihittää (to push (someone) to the ground; to defeat, overcome) · fi painaa päälle (to intensify one's efforts) · fi pysyä kannassaan (to maintain one's position against (someone) in a debate) · sv krysta (to exert downward pressure on one's abdomen) · fi puskea kohti (to approach in a determined manner) · ja 息む (to exert downward pressure on one's abdomen) · fi puskea päin (to approach in a determined manner) · id ejan (to exert downward pressure on one's abdomen) · fi laskea (nautical: to steer away from the wind) · su heujeun (to exert downward pressure on one's abdomen) · fi ponnistaa (to exert downward pressure on one's abdomen) · ta முக்கு (to exert downward pressure on one's abdomen)