bearing

American  

[bair-ing] / ˈbɛər ɪŋ /

noun

• bearings
  plural

1. the manner in which one conducts or carries oneself, including posture and gestures.

   a man of dignified bearing.

   Synonyms:

   conduct, behavior, demeanor, mien, carriage

2. the act, capability, or period of producing or bringing forth.

   a tree past bearing.

3. something that is produced; a crop.

4. the act of enduring or capacity to endure.

5. reference or relation (usually followed byon ).

   It has some bearing on the problem.

   Synonyms:

   application, dependency, connection

6. Architecture.

   1. a supporting part of a structure.

   2. the area of contact between a bearing member, as a beam, and a pier, wall, or other underlying support.

7. Machinery. the support and guide for a rotating, oscillating, or sliding shaft, pivot, or wheel.

8. Often bearings. direction or relative position.

   The pilot radioed his bearings.

   Synonyms:

   aim, course

9. Surveying. a horizontal direction expressed in degrees east or west of a true or magnetic north or south direction.

10. Heraldry. any single device on an escutcheon; charge.

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bearing British  

/ ˈbɛərɪŋ /

noun

1. a support, guide, or locating piece for a rotating or reciprocating mechanical part

2. relevance (to)

   it has no bearing on this problem

3. a person's general social conduct, esp in manners, dress, and behaviour

4. 1. the act, period, or capability of producing fruit or young

   2. an amount produced; yield

5. the part of a beam or lintel that rests on a support

6. anything that carries weight or acts as a support

7. the angular direction of a line, point, or course measured from true north or south ( true bearing ), magnetic north or south ( magnetic bearing ), or one's own position

8. (usually plural) the position or direction, as of a ship, fixed with reference to two or more known points

9. (usually plural) a sense of one's relative position or situation; orientation (esp in the phrases lose , get , or take one's bearings )

10. heraldry

    1. a device or emblem on a heraldic shield; charge

    2. another name for coat of arms

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Synonym Usage

See manner ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unbearing
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bearings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bearing

First recorded in 1200–50, bearing is from the Middle English word beryng. See bear ¹, -ing ¹

Explanation

When you walk into a room with your shoulders straight and your head up, people might say you have a noble bearing. Bearing is the way you hold your body, and it often means you hold it well. Bearing has many uses, but they mostly involve support and/or direction. Bearing, for example, is the name given to a mechanical part that supports a moving joint — like a ball bearing. In buildings, bearings are walls or beams that support the building. In the same way, when you carry your body, you are bearing yourself up. Bearing also is used to talk about direction and travel: you could step off the sidewalk and nearly be run over by a car bearing north.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bearing bearings

Dame Vera Baird said: "We will be looking at the report with interest to assess whether it has any bearing on our review of the case."

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Writing about the idiosyncratic art historian Aby Warburg, Irwin relates how, in the late 1920s, Warburg designed a stamp bearing an image of a soaring plane.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

All eyes are now turning to the Consumer Price Index, a key gauge of consumer inflation due to be released Friday, for the overall bearing these figures may have on US interest rates.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

She ate alongside her employees, who were almost all decked out in black slacks and pink polo shirts bearing her firm’s name and its hummingbird logo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Instead of a clearing sky, the white line to the south was the foaming crest of an enormous storm wave bearing down on them.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

Then on Monday he posted a video to Telegram filmed in Paris, saying: "Right now, I need to get my bearings and figure out what to do next. I'll write about my plans later."

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas recently published a report for clients, flagging makers of bearings as potential “picks and shovels” plays for the robotics boom.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

“The second is the component layer beneath them, the motors, reducers, bearings, sensors, and power content inside the machines themselves.”

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

GM built trucks, tanks, guns, shells, ball bearings, aircraft and ship engines for the war.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

The figure seemed to take its bearings for a few moments, then set off with light, quick strides, its long cloak rustling over the grass.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

Related Words

• demeanor
• manner