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The Collaborative International Dictionary
To bear out

Bear \Bear\ (b[^a]r), v. t. [imp. Bore (b[=o]r) (formerly Bare (b[^a]r)); p. p. Born (b[^o]rn), Borne (b[=o]rn); p. pr. & vb. n. Bearing.] [OE. beren, AS. beran, beoran, to bear, carry, produce; akin to D. baren to bring forth, G. geb["a]ren, Goth. ba['i]ran to bear or carry, Icel. bera, Sw. b["a]ra, Dan. b[ae]re, OHG. beran, peran, L. ferre to bear, carry, produce, Gr. fe`rein, OSlav. brati to take, carry, OIr. berim I bear, Skr. bh[.r] to bear. [root]92. Cf. Fertile.]

  1. To support or sustain; to hold up.

  2. To support and remove or carry; to convey.

    I 'll bear your logs the while.
    --Shak.

  3. To conduct; to bring; -- said of persons. [Obs.]

    Bear them to my house.
    --Shak.

  4. To possess and use, as power; to exercise.

    Every man should bear rule in his own house.
    --Esther i. 22.

  5. To sustain; to have on (written or inscribed, or as a mark), as, the tablet bears this inscription.

  6. To possess or carry, as a mark of authority or distinction; to wear; as, to bear a sword, badge, or name.

  7. To possess mentally; to carry or hold in the mind; to entertain; to harbor
    --Dryden.

    The ancient grudge I bear him.
    --Shak.

  8. To endure; to tolerate; to undergo; to suffer.

    Should such a man, too fond to rule alone, Bear, like the Turk, no brother near the throne.
    --Pope.

    I cannot bear The murmur of this lake to hear.
    --Shelley.

    My punishment is greater than I can bear.
    --Gen. iv. 13.

  9. To gain or win. [Obs.]

    Some think to bear it by speaking a great word.
    --Bacon.

    She was . . . found not guilty, through bearing of friends and bribing of the judge.
    --Latimer.

  10. To sustain, or be answerable for, as blame, expense, responsibility, etc.

    He shall bear their iniquities.
    --Is. liii.

  11. Somewhat that will bear your charges.
    --Dryden.

    11. To render or give; to bring forward. ``Your testimony bear''
    --Dryden.

  12. To carry on, or maintain; to have. ``The credit of bearing a part in the conversation.''
    --Locke.

  13. To admit or be capable of; that is, to suffer or sustain without violence, injury, or change.

    In all criminal cases the most favorable interpretation should be put on words that they can possibly bear.
    --Swift.

  14. To manage, wield, or direct. ``Thus must thou thy body bear.''
    --Shak. Hence: To behave; to conduct.

    Hath he borne himself penitently in prison?
    --Shak.

  15. To afford; to be to; to supply with.

    His faithful dog shall bear him company.
    --Pope.

  16. To bring forth or produce; to yield; as, to bear apples; to bear children; to bear interest. Here dwelt the man divine whom Samos bore. --Dryden. Note: In the passive form of this verb, the best modern usage restricts the past participle born to the sense of brought forth, while borne is used in the other senses of the word. In the active form, borne alone is used as the past participle. To bear down.

    1. To force into a lower place; to carry down; to depress or sink. ``His nose, . . . large as were the others, bore them down into insignificance.''
      --Marryat.

    2. To overthrow or crush by force; as, to bear down an enemy. To bear a hand.

      1. To help; to give assistance.

      2. (Naut.) To make haste; to be quick. To bear in hand, to keep (one) up in expectation, usually by promises never to be realized; to amuse by false pretenses; to delude. [Obs.] ``How you were borne in hand, how crossed.'' --Shak. To bear in mind, to remember. To bear off.

        1. To restrain; to keep from approach.

        2. (Naut.) To remove to a distance; to keep clear from rubbing against anything; as, to bear off a blow; to bear off a boat.

    3. To gain; to carry off, as a prize.

    4. (Backgammon) To remove from the backgammon board into the home when the position of the piece and the dice provide the proper opportunity; -- the goal of the game is to bear off all of one's men before the opponent. To bear one hard, to owe one a grudge. [Obs.] ``C[ae]sar doth bear me hard.'' --Shak. To bear out.

      1. To maintain and support to the end; to defend to the last. ``Company only can bear a man out in an ill thing.''
        --South.

      2. To corroborate; to confirm.

        To bear up, to support; to keep from falling or sinking. ``Religious hope bears up the mind under sufferings.''
        --Addison.

        Syn: To uphold; sustain; maintain; support; undergo; suffer; endure; tolerate; carry; convey; transport; waft.

Usage examples of "to bear out".

Even though billions of observers tend to bear out a generalization, a single observation that contradicts or is inconsistent with it must force its modification.

He looked round at his companions as if inviting them to bear out his words, and they were not slow to confirm what he had sworn, in terms as vehement as his own, until in the end the new-comer waved them into silence.

It is a question which I cannot answer exhaustively at any one sitting, and as for the exact statistics to bear out my general statements, I shall have to refer you for them to books in my library, but it would certainly be a pity to leave you to be put to confusion by your old acquaintances, in case of the contingency you speak of, for lack of a few suggestions.