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Forebear (also spelled, less commonly, as forbear) was first used by our ancestors in the days of Middle English. Fore- means "coming before," just as in forefather, and -bear means "one that is." This -bear is not to be confused with the -bear in the unrelated verb forbear, which comes from Old English beran, meaning "to bear or carry." The -bear in the noun forebear is a combination of be-, from the verb be (or, more specifically, from been, an old dialect variant of be), and -ar, a form of the suffix -er, which we append to verbs to denote one that performs a specified action. In this case the "action" is simply existing or being—in other words, -bear implies one who is a "be-er."
Examples of forebear in a Sentence
Michael Luo, New Yorker, 14 June 2026
Since then, Istanbul has seen only mayors from his AKP party and its forebears, the Welfare and Virtue parties.
—Kaya Genç, The Dial, 9 June 2026
In 1786, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson visited the site to see where, almost a century and a half earlier, their forebears had fought to dethrone a king, showing the world that another system of government was possible.
—Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 9 June 2026
That's not a bad thing—the Camp Snap 2 is just as affordable and easy to use as its forebear, and its display-free design continues, so kids can use it to preserve memories at summer camps and school events where smartphones and screen time are verboten.
—Jim Fisher, PC Magazine, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for forebear
Cite this Entry
“Forebear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forebear. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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