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

On the afternoon of June 8, as a wicked storm bore down on the suburbs of Chicago, a cross country cyclist found a newborn kitten on the side of the road near Joliet. — Donna Vickroy, Chicago Tribune, 25 June 2026

France has banned some public drinking and restricted outdoor events as a brutal heat wave bears down on Europe. — Jessica Mekles, FOXNews.com, 23 June 2026

With an artificial deadline of Tuesday’s first round of the NBA Draft bearing down on the Wolves, Connelly looked at the landscape and made a surprising declaration. — Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 23 June 2026

The Iron Fire is burning in Juab County, about 28 miles southwest of Provo, and officials said on Sunday that flames are bearing down on Eureka, Utah, a small town in the East Tintic Mountains. — Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 21 June 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