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

see also:

bear down on

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

And the midterm elections are bearing down on the GOP with a chance to lose control of their congressional majorities. —Paul Kane, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2026

Inter’s cerebral midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan bore down on goal and Milan’s defence parted like the waves, as their remaining centre-backs got pulled out of position by clever runs from Ange-Yoan Bonny and Nicolo Barella. —James Horncastle, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026

His watery blue eyes, narrow-set and preternaturally unblinking, reveal nothing of the pressure bearing down upon him. —USA Today, 8 Mar. 2026

The denouement of the musical bears down, allowing both Barfee and Olive to bring the piece home, and where some of the show’s best music lives. —David John Chávez, Mercury News, 2 Mar. 2026

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