/b
I
ə
r
d
I
d/ ADJ
[usu ADJ
n] A
bearded
man has a beard. □
…a bearded 40-year-old sociology professor.
bear|er
/beə
rə
r
/ (bearers
)
1
N‑COUNT
The
bearerof
something such as a message is the person who brings it to you. □ [+ of
]
I hate to be the bearer of bad news.
2
N‑COUNT
[usu n N
] A
bearer
of a particular thing is a person who carries it, especially in a ceremony. [FORMAL
] □
…Britain's flag bearer at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.
3
N‑COUNT
The
bearerof
something such as a document, a right, or an official position is the person who possesses it or holds it. [FORMAL
] □ [+ of
]
…the traditional bourgeois notion of the citizen as a bearer of rights.
□
Spanish identity documents state the bearer's profession.
4
→ see also
pallbearer
,
standard bearer
bea
r hug
(
bear hugs
) N‑COUNT
A
bear hug
is a rather rough, tight, affectionate hug.
bear|ing
◆◇◇ /beə
r
I
ŋ/ (bearings
)
1
PHRASE
If something
has a bearing on
a situation or event, it is relevant to it. □
Experts generally agree that diet has an important bearing on your general health.
□
My father's achievements really don't have any bearing on what I do.
2
N‑SING
[usu poss N
] Someone's
bearing
is the way in which they move or stand. [LITERARY
] □
She later wrote warmly of his bearing and behaviour.
3
N‑COUNT
If you take a
bearing
with a compass, you use it to work out the direction in which a particular place lies or in which something is moving.
4
PHRASE
If you
get
your
bearings
or
find
your
bearings
, you find out where you are or what you should do next. If you
lose
your
bearings
, you do not know where you are or what you should do next. □
A sightseeing tour of the city is included to help you get your bearings.
5
N‑COUNT
[usu pl]
Bearings
are small metal balls that are placed between moving parts of a machine in order to make them move smoothly and easily over each other. □
An oil seal was replaced, along with both front wheel bearings.
6
→ see also
ball bearing
-bearing
/-beər
I
ŋ/ COMB
-bearing
combines with nouns to form adjectives which describe things that hold the specified substance inside them. □
…oil-bearing rocks.
□
…malaria-bearing mosquitos.
bear|ish
/beə
r
I
ʃ/ ADJ
On the stock market, if there is a
bearish
mood, prices are expected to fall. Compare
bullish
. [BUSINESS
] □
Dealers said investors remain bearish.
bea
r mar|ket
(
bear markets
) N‑COUNT
A
bear market
is a situation on the stock market when people are selling a lot of shares because they expect that the shares will decrease in value and that they will be able to make a profit by buying them again after a short time. Compare
bull market
. [BUSINESS
]
bear|skin
/beə
r
sk
I
n/ (bearskins
)
1
N‑COUNT
A
bearskin
is a tall fur hat that is worn by some British soldiers on ceremonial occasions.
2
N‑COUNT
A
bearskin
is the skin and fur of a bear.
beast
/biː
st/ (beasts
) N‑COUNT
You can refer to an animal as a
beast
, especially if it is a large, dangerous, or unusual one. [LITERARY
] □
…the threats our ancestors faced from wild beasts.
beast|ly
/biː
stli/
1
ADJ
If you describe something as
beastly
, you mean that it is very unpleasant. [INFORMAL
, OLD-FASHIONED
]
2
ADJ
If you describe someone as
beastly
, you mean that they are behaving unkindly. [INFORMAL
, OLD-FASHIONED
]
bea
st of bu
r|den
(
beasts of burden
) N‑COUNT
A
beast of burden
is an animal such as an ox or a donkey that is used for carrying or pulling things.
beat
◆◆◆ /biː
t/ (beats
, beating
, beaten
)
The form
beat
is used in the present tense and is the past tense.
1
VERB
If you
beat
someone or something, you hit them very hard. □ [V
n]
My sister tried to stop them and they beat her.
□ [be
V
-ed + to
]
They were beaten to death with baseball bats.