bearer

[ bair-er ]

/ ˈbɛər ər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bearer ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing that carries, upholds, or brings: dozens of bearers on the safari.

the person who presents an order for money or goods: Pay to the bearer.

a tree or plant that yields fruit or flowers.

the holder of rank or office; incumbent.

pallbearer.

(especially in India) a native boy or man employed as a personal or household servant.

Printing.

furniture(def 4).
one of several strips of metal fitted at the sides of a plate for support during inking and proving.

a joistlike member supporting the floorboards of a scaffold.

Furniture. bearing rail.

Nearby words

beardmore glacier, beardsley, beardsley, aubrey vincent, beardtongue, beardy, bearer, bearer bond, bearing, bearing down, bearing pedestal, bearing pile

Origin of bearer

First recorded in 1250–1300, bearer is from the Middle English word berere. See bear¹, -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bearer

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but here at Royalist towers we think not.
William's New Baby Hint|Tom Sykes|April 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In about 12 minutes the gun carriage and bearer party and escort party, led by a band of the Royal Marines, will lead off.
Live Blogging Thatcher’s London Funeral|Tom Sykes|April 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
How would people in the audience have known that here was a bearer of friendly fire, not an accomplice in the massacre?
For Obama, Romney, and America, Gun Control Is Dead|Robert Shrum|July 24, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Not to be the bearer of ill tidings, Herman, but you are close to the last person in America still wondering this.
Was Herman Cain’s High-Risk Campaign Fueled by Testosterone?|Michelle Cottle|November 30, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Getting yelled at for being the bearer of bad news—or even non-news—is not uncommon.
Confessions of a Flight Attendant|Bobby Laurie|August 11, 2010|DAILY BEAST
If the bill is payable to bearer it is transferable by mere delivery.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7|Various
The jar is made to rest upon the girdle of the bearer, while she supports it upon her back by one or both of the handles.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, October, 1877, Vol. XX. No. 118|Various
Then that ominous silence was broken by Castleman's call: "Bearer of flag of truce!"
Ride Proud, Rebel!|Andre Alice Norton
As it drew near it was seen that to all appearance the bearer was a chūgen.
Bakemono Yashiki (The Haunted House)|James S. De Benneville
It is as a bearer of value, in form adapted to the problem, that is in highly saleable form, that the dollar functions.
The Value of Money|Benjamin M. Anderson, Jr.

British Dictionary definitions for bearer

bearer

/ (ˈbɛərə) /

noun

a person or thing that bears, presents, or upholds

a person who presents a note or bill for payment

(formerly, in Africa, India, etc)

a native carrier, esp on an expedition
a native servant

See pallbearer

the holder of a rank, position, office, etc

(modifier) finance payable to the person in possessionbearer bonds

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bearer

bearer

Old English -berere (in water-berere), agent noun from bear (v.). Meaning "one who helps carry a corpse to the grave" is from 1630s.

bearer

noun

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Origin of bearer

Examples from the Web for bearer

British Dictionary definitions for bearer

bearer

noun

Word Origin and History for bearer

bearer