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
As Hurricane Hilary bore down on the California coast last August, dropping record rainfall in parts of the Southwest, Idaho earned its own little footnote in history.
—
Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 9 Apr. 2024
By the early morning, over 50,000 households in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio were without power as the storm bore down on the Midwest, according to a database maintained by USA TODAY.
—Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 2 Apr. 2024
As the full force of the Realm bears down on the burgeoning rebellion, unbreakable bonds are forged, heroes emerge, and legends are made.
—James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Mar. 2024
Greenbrier East also advanced to the tournament in 2020, but hours before its game, Justice the governor called everything off as the COVID-19 pandemic bore down on West Virginia.
—John Raby, Quartz, 12 Mar. 2024
With eternal erasure bearing down, Melfi had been rescued from the ranks of the unclaimed, a classification with powerful, even primal, connotations.
—Dan Barry, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024
The pressures bearing down on farmers are pushing many out of business.
—Lyubov Pronina, Bloomberg.com, 8 Feb. 2024
The shocking collapse of the 1.6-mile bridge, seared into the memories of the countless people who viewed video of the ship bearing down on the bridge, was described by officials as an accident.
—Thomas Fuller, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024
The stress bearing down on the commercial real estate sector has been evident since the pandemic accelerated the trend of remote work.
—Alan Rappeport, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024
Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 9 Apr. 2024
By the early morning, over 50,000 households in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio were without power as the storm bore down on the Midwest, according to a database maintained by USA TODAY.
—Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 2 Apr. 2024
As the full force of the Realm bears down on the burgeoning rebellion, unbreakable bonds are forged, heroes emerge, and legends are made.
—James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Mar. 2024
Greenbrier East also advanced to the tournament in 2020, but hours before its game, Justice the governor called everything off as the COVID-19 pandemic bore down on West Virginia.
—John Raby, Quartz, 12 Mar. 2024
With eternal erasure bearing down, Melfi had been rescued from the ranks of the unclaimed, a classification with powerful, even primal, connotations.
—Dan Barry, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024
The pressures bearing down on farmers are pushing many out of business.
—Lyubov Pronina, Bloomberg.com, 8 Feb. 2024
The shocking collapse of the 1.6-mile bridge, seared into the memories of the countless people who viewed video of the ship bearing down on the bridge, was described by officials as an accident.
—Thomas Fuller, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024
The stress bearing down on the commercial real estate sector has been evident since the pandemic accelerated the trend of remote work.
—Alan Rappeport, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024
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.
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Cite this Entry
“Bear down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bear%20down. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
bear down
intransitive verb
: to contract the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm during childbirth
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