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
you need to bear down on that cap a bit to get it to latch tightly
Recent Examples on the Web
Hurricane Melissa, now a powerful Category 5 storm, is bearing down on Jamaica and is forecast to be the worst storm in the island's history.
—
ABC News, 27 Oct. 2025
The move comes as Category 5 Hurricane Melissa bears down on Cuba and much of the Caribbean this week, promising to bring powerful winds, rain and storm surges.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
There’s also still a slim chance that Melissa takes a sharp turn to the north earlier than expected and bears down directly on Haiti.
—Briana Waxman, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
The West African archipelagic state may as well have started researching transatlantic flights as four players bore down on the Libya goalkeeper deep in injury time on Wednesday, only for the flag to go up against the passer who set the quartet clean through.
—Jack Bantock, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bear down
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
ABC News, 27 Oct. 2025
The move comes as Category 5 Hurricane Melissa bears down on Cuba and much of the Caribbean this week, promising to bring powerful winds, rain and storm surges.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
There’s also still a slim chance that Melissa takes a sharp turn to the north earlier than expected and bears down directly on Haiti.
—Briana Waxman, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
The West African archipelagic state may as well have started researching transatlantic flights as four players bore down on the Libya goalkeeper deep in injury time on Wednesday, only for the flag to go up against the passer who set the quartet clean through.
—Jack Bantock, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bear down
Cite this Entry
“Bear down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bear%20down. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
bear down
intransitive verb
: to contract the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm during childbirth
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share