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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
Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026
But Wallace, alert to the sexism of his forebears and eager to demonstrate his own feminism, once sounded a lot like Lockwood.
—Hermione Hoby, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
Unlike their forebears, however, today’s boneless couches are not high design but rather attainable furniture.
—Kristina McGuirk, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Jan. 2026
Judged against his forebears, Hamels doesn’t measure up.
—The Athletic Mlb Staff, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Forebear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forebear. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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