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Forebear (also spelled, less commonly, as forbear) was first used by our ancestors in the days of Middle English. Fore- means "coming before," just as in forefather, and -bear means "one that is." This -bear is not to be confused with the -bear in the unrelated verb forbear, which comes from Old English beran, meaning "to bear or carry." The -bear in the noun forebear is a combination of be-, from the verb be (or, more specifically, from been, an old dialect variant of be), and -ar, a form of the suffix -er, which we append to verbs to denote one that performs a specified action. In this case the "action" is simply existing or being—in other words, -bear implies one who is a "be-er."
Examples of forebear in a Sentence
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025
Once upon a time, scholars thought that human evolution was a march of progress in which our forebears evolved in linear fashion from an apelike ancestor to a series of increasingly humanlike forms.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 13 Aug. 2025
As summer temperatures continue to rise, perhaps Americans will start to look back with envy on the ways our forebears beat the heat.
—Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 26 July 2025
The farmhouse where generations of Henry’s forebears grew up would be untouched.
—Meena Duerson, CNN Money, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for forebear
Cite this Entry
“Forebear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forebear. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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