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

But Zerpa bore down and got out of the inning by getting Salvador Perez to fly out to center and Lane Thomas to ground out to short. —Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2026

Drought was bearing down west of the Rockies, too. —ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026

The weight of tradition and the pressure of his own desires bear down on him equally, and his choice will have lasting consequences. —Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026

Their front feet rested on their knuckles, while the hind legs bore down on the outer edge of the broad feet. —John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 18 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