bearing (down on) 1 of 2

verb

Definition of bearing (down on)next
present participle of bear (down on)
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 2

phrase

present participle of bear down on
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)
  1. pressing
  2. shoving
  3. compressing
Verb
  • Sacramento City Unified leaders are pressing the city for notifications when ICE operates near schools after a parent was detained blocks from an elementary campus.
    — The Sacramento Bee staff, Sacbee.com, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Their most pressing needs are their bullpen and bench, areas that often draw less fanfare.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of pressing
Verb
  • The video from student cameras on Friday shows pushing and shoving before a Pine-Richland player throws a punch at a Plum player's head.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The agent appeared to point their gun at the neighbor’s face before shoving him into a row of hedges.
    — Greta Bjornson, PEOPLE, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of shoving
Verb
  • Laser fusion follows another route, compressing and heating a tiny fuel pellet so reactions occur before the fuel disperses.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 31 Oct. 2026
  • Glaciers could re-form if carbon pollution declines substantially and temperatures drop enough to enable snowfall to build year-round, eventually compressing again into glacial ice, but that may take several hundred years, Menounos added.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of compressing
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.

Browse Nearby Words

bearing (down)
bearing (down on)
bearing down on
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bearing (down on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bearing%20%28down%20on%29. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
speech-bubble-untangle
Simplify The Convoluted Expression Quiz A quiz that’s as “uncomplicated as a round de...
See All