bear down
verb
bore down; borne down also born down; bearing down; bears down
: to exert full strength and concentrated attention
Examples of bear down in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
A day after his Eagles opened the 2023 season with a 24-23 loss to Santa Ana Segerstrom, in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday and with Hurricane Hilary bearing down on San Diego, Corley experienced chest pains.
—
John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2023
But during a summer of record heat, choking wildfire smoke and now a hurricane bearing down on Los Angeles, American teenagers and 20-somethings concerned about the planet are increasingly being taken seriously.
—David Gelles, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2023
Another showed an autonomous vehicle in flames bearing down on a crowd of firemen, police officers, and taxi-drivers.
—Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2023
California Hurricane Hilary is bearing down on Southern California.
—Jessica Roy, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2023
Winds were howling, and heat bore down as flames licked the trees on the horizon.
—Claire Galofaro and Matt Sedensky, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Aug. 2023
But matters of the heart take a backseat as a raging wildfire bears down on the town and its residents.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 9 Aug. 2023
As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a battle over the fate of a galaxy is waged, and in the process, a new army of heroes is formed.
—Michaela Zee, Variety, 30 Aug. 2023
The storm is bearing down on the state’s Big Bend region, where the peninsula meets the panhandle along the Gulf of Mexico.
—Jon Kamp, WSJ, 30 Aug. 2023
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John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2023
But during a summer of record heat, choking wildfire smoke and now a hurricane bearing down on Los Angeles, American teenagers and 20-somethings concerned about the planet are increasingly being taken seriously.
—David Gelles, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2023
Another showed an autonomous vehicle in flames bearing down on a crowd of firemen, police officers, and taxi-drivers.
—Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2023
California Hurricane Hilary is bearing down on Southern California.
—Jessica Roy, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2023
Winds were howling, and heat bore down as flames licked the trees on the horizon.
—Claire Galofaro and Matt Sedensky, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Aug. 2023
But matters of the heart take a backseat as a raging wildfire bears down on the town and its residents.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 9 Aug. 2023
As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a battle over the fate of a galaxy is waged, and in the process, a new army of heroes is formed.
—Michaela Zee, Variety, 30 Aug. 2023
The storm is bearing down on the state’s Big Bend region, where the peninsula meets the panhandle along the Gulf of Mexico.
—Jon Kamp, WSJ, 30 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bear down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Time Traveler
The first known use of bear down was
in the 14th century
Articles Related to bear down
Dictionary Entries Near bear down
Cite this Entry
“Bear down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bear%20down. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
Medical Definition
bear down
intransitive verb
: to contract the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm during childbirth
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