bear down

verb

bore down; borne down also born down; bearing down; bears down

transitive verb

: overcome, overwhelm

intransitive verb

: to exert full strength and concentrated attention

Phrases

bear down on

1

: emphasize

2

: to weigh heavily on : burden

Synonyms of bear down

• weigh (on or upon)
• press
• shove
• compress

Examples of bear down in a Sentence

you need to bear down on that cap a bit to get it to latch tightly

Recent Examples on the Web

Marcus Johansson’s overtime winner for the Minnesota Wild was declared a goal after Predators goalie Justus Annunen appeared to use his left arm and leg to knock the net off kilter just as Johansson and Kirill Kaprizov were bearing down on the crease. —Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 5 Nov. 2025

With Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton bearing down on him, Allen slid. —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 3 Nov. 2025

Since then, the airport has been boarded up and all outgoing flights canceled, leaving many tourists stranded as the hurricane bears down, the station added. —Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2025

Starlink, the satellite internet service that is a lucrative part of billionaire Elon Musk's business empire, will be free to people in Jamaica and the Bahamas as Hurricane Melissa bears down on the region. —Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 29 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for bear down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown

Kids Definition

bear down

verb

1

: overwhelm, overcome

2

: to press or weigh down

3

: to make an all-out effort

4

: to weigh heavily on : burden

Medical Definition

bear down

intransitive verb

(ˈ)ba(ə)r-ˈdau̇n, (ˈ)be(ə)r- 

: to contract the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm during childbirth