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

When Prince was born in 1958, mid-twentieth-century America’s expectations that women set aside their ambitions and personal wants to raise children bore down hard on Mattie, who became responsible for rearing Prince and Tyka. —Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026

Duvall would assess that Coppola’s genius in making the film that started with only weak studio support was to bear down on the family’s depths and let the rich story play out slightly in the background. —Fred Schruers, IndieWire, 16 Feb. 2026

Eventually, the Manchester City winger is bearing down on goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, chipping her shot to score City’s third goal of the day, before landing on her backside, arms folded and tongue out; a punk-rock finish. —Megan Feringa, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026

Then on the winner, Robertson bore down on his off wing and, before Pavel Zacha could get his stick in the shooting lane, the defenseman snapped off a forehand shot that found the back of the net. —Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 27 Jan. 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