bear down

British  

verb

1. to press or weigh down

2. to approach in a determined or threatening manner

3. (of a vessel) to make an approach (to another vessel, obstacle, etc) from windward

4. (of a woman during childbirth) to exert a voluntary muscular pressure to assist delivery

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bear down Idioms  

1. Press or weigh down on someone or something. For example, This pen doesn't write unless you bear down hard on it . [Late 1600s]

2. Try hard, intensify one's efforts, as in If you'll just bear down, you'll pass the test .

3. Move forward in a pressing or threatening way, as in The ferry bore down on our little skiff . This usage was originally nautical. [Early 1700s]

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Example Sentences

There are a thousand ways �some of them now unpredictable�in which the pressure of the federal courts will bear down upon the public authorities who persist in operating segregated schools.

From Time Magazine Archive

Harry saw Cedric’s wand fly out of his hand as a gigantic spider stepped into the path and began to bear down upon Cedric.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

For a moment longer, Stewart stared after it, half-expecting it to reappear and bear down upon him.

From The Girl from Alsace A Romance of the Great War, Originally Published under the Title of Little Comrade by Stevenson, Burton Egbert

All at once he heard a battle cry and, turning, beheld the Coffee-colored Angel and the White Mountain Canary spring from their concealment and bear down upon him with unmistakable intent.

From The Varmint by Gruger, Frederic Rodrigo

Thus silently did the "Chesapeake" bear down upon her adversary.

From The Naval History of the United States Volume 1 by Abbot, Willis J. (Willis John)