bear down

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

Idioms and Phrases

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

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

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]

Example Sentences

With the forward bearing down on goal in the dying stages, Young cynically hacked him down on the edge of the area, preventing a near-certain goal.

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For Rob Cuff and his wife Leah, their Jamaican honeymoon is coming to an uncertain end as Hurricane Melissa, the world's most powerful storm this year, bears down on the Caribbean island.

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Rain and wind warnings have come into force across parts of the UK as Storm Benjamin bears down on the country.

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Following the release of the latest inflation figures, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she was not satisfied with progress so far in bearing down on price rises.

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The violence is large, state-like and looming, and when it bears down on an individual, it’s as impersonal as a bullet.

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