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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
Sarah Moroz, Pitchfork, 12 Nov. 2025
Yeah, it’s truly damned by the power of its forebear.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2025
Yet while most wound up being little more than footnotes in the books, Lamborghini managed to build a new mid-engined monster that would prove a successful successor to its forebears on children’s bedroom walls and in rich men’s driveways alike.
—Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 6 Nov. 2025
Hundreds of billions of dollars have been invested in the generative-AI industry, and the companies—like their social-media forebears—will seek returns.
—Damon Beres, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 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 17 Nov. 2025.
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