as in to weigh (on or upon)
to push steadily against with some force
you need to bear down on that cap a bit to get it to latch tightly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
bear down on
2 of 2phrase
as in highlight
to indicate the importance of by centering attention on
Our manager bore down on the need to meet upcoming deadlines.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bear (down on)
Verb
-
Despite the information gaps and deficiencies of existing AI models, the hospitality industry is pressing ahead with the rollout of more smart tools.—
Sydney Goh,
CNBC,
11 Mar. 2026 -
The veteran Swedish defender reads play early, organizes the defensive line and rarely panics when San Diego’s aggressive pressing scheme stretches the field.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The singer then broke down in hysterical laughter, falling onto the table in front of her and shoving her microphone away.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Johnson then gripped the child by the neck and shoved a bottle repeatedly in and out of the baby’s mouth.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
This enables compressed heat to be stored and reused throughout the process without fossil fuel combustion, delivering significant low‑carbon benefits, according to a press release.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Inevitably, however, the result feels like the character evolutions, machinations, and plot pivots of an entire series of the show compressed desperately into 112 minutes.—
Miriam Balanescu,
IndieWire,
5 Mar. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Bear (down on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bear%20%28down%20on%29. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
