bearing

UK/ˈbɛə̯ɹɪŋ//ˈbɛɹɪŋ/

bearing is the present participle and gerund of bear.

Adjective

bearing (not comparable)

(in-compounds) That bears (some specified thing).
- a gift-bearing visitor
Of a beam, column, or other device, carrying weight or load.
- That's a bearing wall.

Noun

bearing (plural bearings)

A mechanical device that supports another part or reduces friction.
- The smaller 1/4" shank version features a bearing at the top edge to limit depth of cut, making it especially useful for curved glue joints.2026 August, Collin Knoff, “Wave Reversible Glueline Bit From Microjig”, in Popular Woodworking, volume 290, number 4, page 12
(navigation) 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...1726 October 28, Richard Sympson [pseudonym], [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, (please specify...
(especially, in plural) One's understanding of one's orientation or relative position, literally or figuratively.
- Do we go left here or straight on? Hold on, let me just get my bearings.
- I started a new job last week, and I still haven't quite found my bearings.
Relevance; a relationship or connection.
- That has no bearing on this issue.
- But of this frame, the bearings and the ties, / The strong connections, nice dependencies.1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC
One's posture, demeanor, or manner.
- She walks with a confident, self-assured bearing.
- I know him by his bearing.1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
Synonyms:

presence
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.
The portion of a support on which anything rests.
(proscribed) The unsupported span.
- The beam has twenty feet of bearing between its supports.
Any single emblem or charge in an escutcheon or coat of arms.
- Holonyms: shield, escutcheon
- […]when the French seized Malta they were by no means so delicate. They effaced armorial bearings with their usual hot-headed eagerness; and a few years after they had torn down the coats of arms of the gentry, the heroes of Malta and Egypt were busy devising heraldry for themselves, and were wild...1846, Mr. M. A. Titmarsh [pseudonym; W. M. Thackeray], chapter VIII, in Notes on a Journey from Cornhill to Grand Cairo […] , London: Chapman and Hall, page 140

Meaning of bear

Verb (1)

bear (third-person singular simple present bears, present participle bearing, simple past and past participle beared)

(transitive) To endeavour to depress the price of, or prices in.
- to bear a railroad stock

Verb (2)

bear (third-person singular simple present bears, present participle bearing, simple past bore or (archaic) bare, past participle borne or (colloquial) bore or (see usage notes) born)

(transitive) To carry or convey, literally or figuratively.
- They came bearing gifts.
1. (transitive) To carry (weapons, flags or symbols of rank, office, etc.) upon one's person, especially visibly; to be equipped with (weapons, etc.).
  - the right to bear arms
2. (transitive) To wear (garments, pieces of jewellery, etc.).
  - The queen bore the royal scepter and crown as she processed into the hall.
3. (intransitive, rare, transitive) To carry (offspring in the womb), to be pregnant (with).
  - The scan showed that the ewe was bearing twins.
4. (transitive) To have or display (a mark or other feature).
  - She still bears the scars from a cycling accident.

See all 54 meanings of bear

Synonyms of bearing

presence

Forms of bearing

plural	bearings

Origin of bearing

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.

Words formed from bearing

Words that rhyme with bearing

6 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about bearing

What does bearing mean?: Bearing means that bears (some specified thing).
What is bearing the present participle and gerund of?: Bearing is the present participle and gerund of bear.
What part of speech is bearing?: Bearing can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce bearing?: Bearing is pronounced /ˈbɛə̯ɹɪŋ/ (UK).

Words near bearing in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: bearing (page history and authors); bear (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-bearing.ogg.

Cite this entry: “bearing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/bearing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.