Bearing
adj, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Definitions
- 1 A mechanical device that supports another part or reduces friction.
- 2 a rotating support placed between moving parts to allow them to move easily wordnet
- 3 The horizontal angle between the direction of an object and another object, or between it and that of true north; a heading or direction.
"This volume would have been at least twice as large, if I had not made bold to strike out innumerable passages relating to the winds and tides, as well as to the variations and bearings in the several voyages, together with the minute descriptions of the management of the ship in storms, in the style of sailors; likewise the account of longitudes and latitudes; [...]"
- 4 heraldry consisting of a design or image depicted on a shield wordnet
- 5 One's understanding of one's orientation or relative position, literally or figuratively. especially, in-plural
"Do we go left here or straight on? Hold on, let me just get my bearings."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 dignified manner or conduct wordnet
- 7 Relevance; a relationship or connection.
"That has no bearing on this issue."
- 8 characteristic way of bearing one's body wordnet
- 9 One's posture, demeanor, or manner.
"She walks with a confident, self-assured bearing."
- 10 the direction or path along which something moves or along which it lies wordnet
- 11 That part of any member of a building which rests upon its supports.
"A lintel or beam may have four inches of bearing upon the wall."
- 12 relevant relation or interconnection wordnet
- 13 The portion of a support on which anything rests.
- 14 The unsupported span. proscribed
"The beam has twenty feet of bearing between its supports."
- 15 Any single emblem or charge in an escutcheon or coat of arms.
"Holonyms: shield, escutcheon"
- 1 present participle and gerund of bear form-of, gerund, participle, present
- 1 That bears (some specified thing). in-compounds, not-comparable
"a gift-bearing visitor"
- 2 Of a beam, column, or other device, carrying weight or load. not-comparable
"That's a bearing wall."
- 1 (of a structural member) withstanding a weight or strain wordnet
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Your conduct is beyond bearing."
Etymology
From Middle English beringe, berynge, berende, berande, berand, from Old English berende (“bearing; fruitful”) (also as synonym Old English bǣrende), from Proto-Germanic *berandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *beraną (“to bear; carry”), equivalent to bear + -ing.
From Middle English bering, beringe, berynge, equivalent to bear + -ing.
Related phrases
More for "bearing"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.