bear¹ /bār/

1. To carry
2. To have
3. To convey
4. To remove from the board in the final stage of the game (backgammon)
5. To sustain or support
6. To thrust or drive
7. To endure, tolerate
8. To admit of
9. To purport
10. To behave or conduct (oneself)
11. To bring forth, give birth to (pap born /börn/ in passive uses except with by)
12. To display on one's heraldic shield, to be entitled to (heraldry)

1. To suffer
2. To be patient
3. (with on or upon) to have reference to
4. To press (on or upon)
5. To lie in, or take, a direction
6. To be capable of sustaining weight
7. To be productive

1. A burden
2. Also (Spenser) a bier (see bier)

bearˈable adjective

Able to be borne or endured

bearˈableness noun

bearˈably adverb

bearˈer noun

1. A person who or that which bears
2. The actual holder of a cheque, etc
3. A person who helps to carry the coffin at a funeral, a pall-bearer
4. A carrier or messenger
5. Formerly in India, a personal, household or hotel servant

bearˈing noun

1. Demeanour
2. Direction
3. A supporting surface
4. Relation, relevance
5. A heraldic device or coat of arms
6. The part of a machine that bears friction, esp part of a shaft or axle and its support (sometimes in pl; see ball-bearing under ball¹)

bearer bill, bond, security, etc noun

A bond, etc which has been made out to be payable to the person in possession of it

bearing cloth noun (historical)

A gown worn at a child's baptism

bearing rein noun

A fixed rein between the bit and the saddle, by which a horse's head is held up and its neck made to arch

bear a hand see under hand

bear away

1. To sail away
2. To carry away

bear down

1. To overthrow
2. To press downwards
3. In childbirth, to exert downward muscular pressure
4. (with upon or towards) to sail with the wind (towards)
5. (with upon) to approach (someone or something) rapidly and purposefully

bear hard (Shakespeare)

To have ill-will to

bear hard or heavily upon (lit and figurative)

1. To press heavily on
2. To oppress, afflict

bear in hand

1. To make out, maintain (archaic)
2. To keep in expectation, to flatter someone's hopes (Shakespeare)

bear in mind

1. To remember (that)
2. To think of, take into consideration

bear in upon

(usu in passive) to impress upon, or to make realize, esp by degrees

bear out

To corroborate

bear up

To keep up one's spirits

bear up for

To sail towards (a place)

bear with

To make allowance for, be patient with

bear witness see witness

bring to bear

To bring into operation (against or upon)

find, get (or lose) one's bearings

To ascertain (or to become uncertain of) one's position or orientation

bear² /bār/

1. A heavy carnivorous animal with long shaggy hair and hooked claws
2. Also applied to other unrelated animals, such as the koala
3. A teddy bear
4. A person who sells stocks for delivery at a future date, anticipating a fall in price, opp to bull (the old phrase a bearskin jobber suggests an origin in the proverbial phrase, to sell the bearskin before one has caught the bear; stock exchange)
5. The name of two constellations, the Great Bear and the Little Bear (Ursa Major and Minor)
6. Any rude, rough or ill-mannered fellow

To act as a bear

To lower the price of (a stock) or depress (a market) by selling speculatively

bearˈish adjective

1. Like a bear in manners
2. Inclining towards, anticipating, a fall in price (stock exchange)

bearˈishly adverb

bearˈishness noun

bear-animalˈcule noun

A tardigrade, a kind of minute arthropod with four pairs of stumpy legs

bearˈ-baiting noun

The former sport of setting dogs to attack a bear

bearˈberry noun

1. A trailing plant (genus Arctostaphylos) of the family Ericaceae
2. Extended to various plants

bearˈbine noun

A bindweed

bearˈcat noun

The lesser or red panda

bear garden noun

1. An enclosure for bear-baiting or for exhibiting bears
2. A turbulent assembly

bear hug noun

1. A hold in which one wraps one's arms tightly around one's opponent's arms and upper body (wrestling)
2. A similar tight hug

bearˈ-lead transitive verb

To lead about, eg a performing bear, but also more gen to supervise, act as tutor to

bear market noun (stock exchange)

A market in which prices are falling

bear pit noun

An enclosure for bears

bear'sˈ-breech noun

Acanthus

bear'sˈ-ear noun

Auricula

bear'sˈ-foot noun

Black hellebore

bearˈskin noun

1. The pelt of a bear
2. A shaggy woollen cloth for overcoats
3. The high fur cap worn by the Guards in the UK

bearˈward noun

A warden or keeper of bears

bear³ or bere /bēr/

1. Barley
2. In Scotland, now the little-grown four-rowed (really six-rowed) variety

bere², beer or bear /bēr/

A pillowcase (usu pillˈow-bere)

bull¹ /bŭl/

1. An uncastrated male of the cattle family
2. A male whale, walrus, elephant, moose, etc
3. (with cap and the) Taurus
4. A person who seeks to raise the price of stocks, and speculates on a rise, opp to bear
5. A bull's-eye, (a shot that hits) the centre of a target
6. Nonsense (slang)
7. Tediously excessive discipline, eg too much drill, polishing of kit, etc (milit sl)
8. A policeman (obs US sl)

1. Male
2. Massive, strong
3. (of the stock market), rising

1. To try to raise the price of
2. To polish over-zealously (milit sl)
3. (of a bull) to copulate with (a cow)

1. To brag (slang)
2. To talk rubbish (slang)
3. (of a cow) to be on heat, take the bull

bullˈing noun

The mounting of cows by other cows, indicative of their being on heat

bullˈish adjective

1. Like a bull
2. Obstinate, aggressive
3. Inclining towards rising prices (stock exchange)
4. Optimistic, upbeat (informal)

bullˈishly adverb

bullˈishness noun

bullˈock noun

An ox or castrated bull

To work very hard

To force (one's way)

bullˈocky noun (Aust and NZ)

A bullock-driver

bull ant short for bulldog ant

(see below)

bullˈ-baiting noun

The former sport of baiting or exciting bulls with dogs

bullˈbars plural noun

A strong metal framework on the front of a vehicle to protect it from damage if struck by an animal

bullˈbat noun (US)

The nighthawk

bullˈ-beef noun (pl bullˈ-beeves) (obsolete; Shakespeare)

An ox fattened for slaughter

bullˈ-beggar noun (dialect)

A hobgoblin, etc

bullˈ-calf noun

1. A male calf
2. A stupid fellow, lout

bullˈ-dance noun

A dance of men only

bull dike same as bull dyke below.

bullˈdog noun

1. A breed of sturdy muscular dogs of great courage, formerly used for baiting bulls
2. A person of obstinate courage
3. A short-barrelled revolver of large calibre
4. A proctor's attendant at Oxford
5. (Bulldog®) a brand of stationery clip with a spring, used for holding papers, etc together or to a board

transitive verb

1. To attack like a bulldog
2. To wrestle with and throw (a steer, etc) (US)

bulldog ant noun

A black or red Australian ant with a vicious sting

bullˈdust noun

1. A euphemism for bullshit (Aust and NZ)
2. Fine dust, as on outback roads (Aust)

bull dyke noun (offensive sl)

A lesbian of masculine appearance and manner

bull fiddle noun (US inf)

A double bass

bullˈfight noun

A popular spectacle in Spain, Portugal, S France, and Latin America, in which a bull is goaded to fury by mounted men (picadors) armed with lances, and killed by a specially skilful unmounted swordsman (matador)

bullˈfighter noun

bullˈfighting noun

bullˈfinch noun

1. A common European finch with red breast and thick neck
2. (perh for bull-fence) a kind of high, thick hedge hard to jump

bullˈfrog noun

A large frog

bullˈ-fronted adjective

Having a forehead like a bull

bullˈhead noun

1. The miller's thumb, a small river fish with a large, flat head
2. Extended to various similar fishes, eg the pogge (armed bullhead)
3. A stupid person

bull-headˈed adjective

Impetuous and obstinate

bull-headˈedness noun

bullˈ-hoof noun

A West Indian passion flower (from the shape of its leaf)

bullˈhorn noun (N American)

A loudhailer

bull market noun (stock exchange)

A market in which prices are rising

bullˈ-mastiff noun

A cross between a bulldog and a mastiff, the mastiff strain predominating

bullˈ-necked adjective

Thick-necked

bullˈnose adjective and noun

(something) with a blunt nose or rounded edge

bullˈ-nosed adjective

bullˈock's-heart noun

The custard apple

bullˈ-of-the-bogˈ noun (Scot)

The bittern

bull pen noun

1. A pen for a bull
2. A similar enclosure for prisoners (US)
3. The part of a baseball ground where pitchers warm up
4. The pitchers on a baseball team who enter the game to relieve the starting pitcher

bull point noun (informal)

A key point, a salient point

bullˈ-pup noun

A young bulldog

bullˈring noun

1. The enclosure for bullfighting or bull-baiting
2. A ring for a bull's nose

bullˈ-roarer noun

1. An oblong slip of wood, whirled at the end of a string to give a loud whirring noise
2. A similar artefact used in an Australian Aboriginal ceremonial, the turndun
3. The similar rhombos of the Greek mysteries

bull session noun (esp N American)

An informal discussion esp between men

bull’sˈ-eye noun

1. A round opening or window
2. The centre of a target
3. A shot that hits it (also figurative)
4. A big, round, hard peppermint sweet
5. The central boss formed in making a sheet of spun glass (old)
6. A thick lens, or round piece of glass, as in a lantern
7. A lantern

bull shark noun

A heavy-bodied shark (Carcharhinus leucas), noted for its aggressive behaviour

bullˈshit noun (vulgar sl)

1. Nonsense
2. Deceptive humbug
3. Bull (milit sl)

intransitive verb and transitive verb

1. To talk nonsense (to), often with the intention of deceiving
2. To polish over-zealously (milit sl)

bullˈshitter noun

bullˈshitting noun

bullˈshot noun

A cocktail of vodka, beef consommé and seasoning

bull snake noun

A gopher snake

bull’s wool noun (Aust inf)

1. Any fibrous bark
2. A euphemistic term for bullshit (see above)

bull terrier noun

A breed of dog with a smooth, short-haired coat, orig a cross between a bulldog and a terrier

bull trout noun

1. A large variety of sea-trout (Salmo trutto eriox)
2. A salmon that has re-entered fresh water after spawning

bullˈwhip or bullˈwhack noun

A heavy short-handled whip

transitive verb

To lash with a bullwhip

a bull in a china shop

A person who lacks the delicacy that the situation calls for

bull into

To plunge hastily into

not know a B from a bull's foot

To be very ignorant

take the bull by the horns

To grapple boldly with a danger or difficulty

• refractive
• refractive index
• refractive indices
• refractively
• refractivities
• refractivity
• refractometer
• refractometers
• refractometric
• refractometry
• refractor
• refractories
• refractorily
• refractoriness
• refractorinesses
• refractors
• refractory
• refractory period
• refractory periods
• refracts
• refracture
• refractures
• refrain
• refrained
• refraining