bearer

American  

[bair-er] / ˈbɛər ər /

noun

bearers plural

1. a person or thing that carries, upholds, or brings.

   The postman was the bearer of wonderful news today.

   It's not fair to you to be the only bearer of the household cares.

2. the person who presents an order for money or goods.

   Pay to the bearer.

3. a tree or plant that yields fruit or flowers.

4. the holder of rank or office; incumbent.

5. pallbearer.

6. a boy or man employed as a personal or household servant, especially in a colonial household in India.

   There were dozens of bearers on the safari.

7. Printing.

   1. furniture.

   2. one of several strips of metal fitted at the sides of a plate for support during inking and proving.

8. a joistlike member supporting the floorboards of a scaffold.

9. Furniture. bearing rail.

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bearer British  

/ ˈbɛərə /

noun

1. a person or thing that bears, presents, or upholds

2. a person who presents a note or bill for payment

3. 1. a native carrier, esp on an expedition

   2. a native servant

4. See pallbearer

5. the holder of a rank, position, office, etc

6. (modifier) finance payable to the person in possession

   bearer bonds

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bearers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bearer

First recorded in 1250–1300; bear ¹, + -er ¹ ( def. )

Explanation

A bearer is a person who carries or delivers something. If you hate to be the bearer of bad news, don't become a traffic cop. If you're the flag bearer in a parade, it means you march at the front gripping a flag, and a coffin bearer holds one end of the coffin at a funeral. You'll often find the word in the phrase "bearer of bad news" or "bearer of bad tidings." In the mid-17th century, the word bearer was primarily used to mean "person who carried dead bodies to the grave."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bearer bearers

Before “Interview with the Vampire” and “The Vampire Lestat,” Hammer Film Productions’ gothic horror movies made “Dracula” their standard bearer.

From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026

When the couple married a year later, which included a civil ceremony at OpenAI with a robotic hand ring bearer, Amodei presented Brockman with a $100 check.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026

Intel’s foundry business, which is aiming to attract external customers for its chip manufacturing, has also been a bearer of seemingly good news for investors.

From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026

But his reputation as a comic standard bearer precedes him, and not everyone was immediately on board with the prospect of his Willy Loman when the revival was announced.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026

“You haven’t been the bearer of good news so far.”

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

The epic journey concluded with a 40-day trip across Scotland involving 4,000 baton bearers.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

In 2009, Ariane became her husband’s No. 2 at the Swiss bank, to the alarm of some culture bearers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

Nevertheless, such a meeting will be meaningful: an American president shaking hands with an American pope, two bearers of globe-altering power, their origins separated only by the distance from New York to Chicago.

From Slate ● May 9, 2025

The people who are in power are not the standard bearers of change.

From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2025

We followed the pall bearers and left the home.

From "The Stranger" by Albert Camus