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The Collaborative International Dictionary
To bear down upon

Bear \Bear\ (b[^a]r), v. i.

  1. To produce, as fruit; to be fruitful, in opposition to barrenness.

    This age to blossom, and the next to bear.
    --Dryden.

  2. To suffer, as in carrying a burden.

    But man is born to bear.
    --Pope.

  3. To endure with patience; to be patient.

    I can not, can not bear.
    --Dryden.

  4. To press; -- with on or upon, or against.

    These men bear hard on the suspected party.
    --Addison.

  5. To take effect; to have influence or force; as, to bring matters to bear.

  6. To relate or refer; -- with on or upon; as, how does this bear on the question?

  7. To have a certain meaning, intent, or effect.

    Her sentence bore that she should stand a certain time upon the platform.
    --Hawthorne.

  8. To be situated, as to the point of compass, with respect to something else; as, the land bears N. by E. To bear against, to approach for attack or seizure; as, a lion bears against his prey. [Obs.] To bear away (Naut.), to change the course of a ship, and make her run before the wind. To bear back, to retreat. ``Bearing back from the blows of their sable antagonist.'' --Sir W. Scott. To bear down upon (Naut.), to approach from the windward side; as, the fleet bore down upon the enemy. To bear in with (Naut.), to run or tend toward; as, a ship bears in with the land. To bear off (Naut.), to steer away, as from land. To bear up.

    1. To be supported; to have fortitude; to be firm; not to sink; as, to bear up under afflictions.

    2. (Naut.) To put the helm up (or to windward) and so put the ship before the wind; to bear away.
      --Hamersly.

      To bear upon (Mil.), to be pointed or situated so as to affect; to be pointed directly against, or so as to hit (the object); as, to bring or plant guns so as to bear upon a fort or a ship; the artillery bore upon the center.

      To bear up to, to tend or move toward; as, to bear up to one another.

      To bear with, to endure; to be indulgent to; to forbear to resent, oppose, or punish.

Usage examples of "to bear down upon".

The giant turned and stared curiously as the suddenly riderless horse continued to bear down upon it, but the monster, after a moment's thought, seemed satisfied with that and lifted its club to meet Symphony's charge.

But their accumulated judgment had a tangible force which seemed to bear down upon her from the sides of the Close, as heavy as Revelstone's unillumined rock.

It seemed to bear down upon my brain, to clog the power of thought, to make me vacillating.

Harry saw Cedric's wand fly out of his hand as a gigantic spider stepped into the path and began to bear down upon Cedric.