as in weighing (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
bearing down on
2 of 2phrase
as in highlighting
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 bearing (down on)
Verb
-
Grapevine surges from behind, falls short Lake Creek provided most of the pressure early in the match, keeping the ball in Grapevine’s end and getting off six shots before the Mustangs started pressing in the 26th minute.—
Charles Baggarly & Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Apr. 2026 -
With no pressing need for FX, sets, name actors or stunts, just about anyone could make a marketable knockoff.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The suspension resulted from a September 2023 incident outside BMO Stadium, in which witness video obtained by The Times showed Urías pulling his wife’s hair and shoving her against a fence.—
Bill Shaikin,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Dowling, who oversees the SRG in his role as assistant chief of special operations, was previously accused of pulling a female protester’s hair and shoving her to the ground in downtown Manhattan in 2020.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
There’s so much data in the spoken word that gets lost when those words are converted to text — just like compressing an audio file into a fuzzy MP3 removes some of the music.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Several people compressing the traditional learning curve.—
Dana Harris-Bridson,
IndieWire,
2 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Bearing (down on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bearing%20%28down%20on%29. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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