bear down
verb
bore down; borne down also born down; bearing down; bears down
: to exert full strength and concentrated attention
Examples of bear down in a Sentence
you need to bear down on that cap a bit to get it to latch tightly
Recent Examples on the Web
The heat will bear down on the central U.S. before concentrating mostly on the South by the latter half of the week, the weather service said.
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Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 24 June 2024
In 2021, an investigation into the assassination of the Haitian President Jovenel Moïse revealed that his government had been bearing down on traffickers of narcotics, weapons—and eels.
—Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 17 June 2024
As more frequent wildfires bear down on the American West and as temperatures rise across the country, fires will negate some of the air-quality gains from combatting other forms of air pollution, such as emissions from cars and power plants.
—Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 14 June 2024
The play of minicamp With a free rusher bearing down on him, quarterback Marcus Mariota lofted a flare pass over his head and up the field toward Ekeler.
—Sam Fortier, Washington Post, 12 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for bear down 
Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 24 June 2024
In 2021, an investigation into the assassination of the Haitian President Jovenel Moïse revealed that his government had been bearing down on traffickers of narcotics, weapons—and eels.
—Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 17 June 2024
As more frequent wildfires bear down on the American West and as temperatures rise across the country, fires will negate some of the air-quality gains from combatting other forms of air pollution, such as emissions from cars and power plants.
—Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 14 June 2024
The play of minicamp With a free rusher bearing down on him, quarterback Marcus Mariota lofted a flare pass over his head and up the field toward Ekeler.
—Sam Fortier, Washington Post, 12 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for bear down
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bear down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Bear down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bear%20down. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
bear down
intransitive verb
: to contract the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm during childbirth
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