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BEARING
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A rotating support placed between moving parts to allow them to move easily
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("bearing" is a kind of...):
support (any device that bears the weight of another thing)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bearing"):
ball bearing; needle bearing; roller bearing (bearings containing small metal balls)
fifth wheel (a steering bearing that enables the front axle of a horse-drawn wagon to rotate)
journal bearing (the bearing of a journal)
thrust bearing (a bearing designed to take thrusts parallel to the axis of revolution)
Holonyms ("bearing" is a part of...):
rotating mechanism (a mechanism that rotates)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Heraldry consisting of a design or image depicted on a shield
Synonyms:
armorial bearing; bearing; charge; heraldic bearing
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("bearing" is a kind of...):
heraldry (emblem indicating the right of a person to bear arms)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bearing"):
roundel ((heraldry) a charge in the shape of a filled circle)
annulet ((heraldry) a charge in the shape of a small ring)
chevron (an inverted V-shaped charge)
fleur-de-lis; fleur-de-lys ((heraldry) charge consisting of a conventionalized representation of an iris)
ordinary ((heraldry) any of several conventional figures used on shields)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Dignified manner or conduct
Synonyms:
bearing; comportment; mien; presence
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("bearing" is a kind of...):
manner; personal manner (a way of acting or behaving)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bearing"):
dignity; gravitas; lordliness (formality in bearing and appearance)
Derivation:
bear (behave in a certain manner)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Characteristic way of bearing one's body
Example:
stood with good posture
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("bearing" is a kind of...):
bodily property (an attribute of the body)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bearing"):
manner of walking; walk (manner of walking)
slouch (a stooping carriage in standing and walking)
gracefulness (beautiful carriage)
awkwardness; clumsiness (the carriage of someone whose movements and posture are ungainly or inelegant)
Derivation:
bear (support or hold in a certain manner)
Sense 5
Meaning:
The direction or path along which something moves or along which it lies
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("bearing" is a kind of...):
direction; way (a line leading to a place or point)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bearing"):
tack (the heading or position of a vessel relative to the trim of its sails)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Relevant relation or interconnection
Example:
those issues have no bearing on our situation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas
Hypernyms ("bearing" is a kind of...):
relatedness (a particular manner of connectedness)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(of a structural member) withstanding a weight or strain
Classified under:
Similar:
load-bearing; supporting (capable of bearing a structural load)
Antonym:
nonbearing ((of a structural member) supporting no vertical weight other than its own)
III. (verb)
Sense 1
-ing form of the verb bear
Context examples:
These include eating foods rich in calcium and vitamin D and doing weight-bearing exercise such as walking, bowling or dancing.
(Bone Density, NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
Agatolimod selectively targets Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9), thereby activating dendritic and B cells and stimulating cytotoxic T cell and antibody responses against tumor cells bearing tumor antigens.
(Agatolimod Sodium, NCI Thesaurus)
This latest clue may be a sign of findings to come as Curiosity heads toward a region called the "sulfate-bearing unit," which is expected to have formed in an even drier environment.
(NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds an Ancient Oasis on Mars, NASA)
The group found that 40-50% of cancer-bearing mice given the treatment showed no signs of metastatic tumors 8 months later.
(Injectable nanoparticles deliver cancer therapy in mice, NIH)
The idea was to follow the trail of these phosphorus-bearing compounds.
(Astronomers Reveal Interstellar Thread of One of Life’s Building Blocks, ESO)
I knew very well that the owner would think that they had lost their bearings in the haze, and had drifted off out to sea.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
He opened the kit bag and oiled his wheel, putting graphite on the chain and adjusting the bearings.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Our visitor was an exceedingly alert man, thirty years of age, dressed in a quiet tweed suit, but retaining the erect bearing of one who was accustomed to official uniform.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
By a fundamental law of this realm, neither the king, nor either of his two eldest sons, are permitted to leave the island; nor the queen, till she is past child-bearing.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
Mrs. Gardiner then rallied her niece on Wickham's desertion, and complimented her on bearing it so well.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
