Search results for 'bore':

bear¹ verb (past tense bore, past participle borne or (in sense 7b) born, present participle bearing) 1 to support or sustain (a weight or load). 2 to take or accept • bear the blame. 3 to put up with or tolerate something or someone. 4 a to allow; to be fit or suitable for something • It doesn't bear thinking about; b to stand up to or be capable of withstanding something • will not bear close scrutiny. 5 to bring or take something with one; to carry • bearing gifts. 6 to produce • bear fruit. 7 a to give birth to (a child or offspring) • She bore three children; b in the passive using past participle born • He was born in 1990; c in the past tense using past participle borne • Has she borne children?; d in the passive using past participle borne, followed by by and the mother's name • a child borne by Mary; e with a direct and an indirect object to give birth to (the child of a man) • She bore him a son. 8 to carry something in one's thought or memory • bearing grudges. 9 to have • bears no resemblance to his father. 10 to show or be marked by something • Her cheeks bore the traces of tears. 11 intrans to turn slightly in a given direction • bear left. 12 to behave • bear oneself well. bear fruit to be productive; to bring results. bring something to bear to apply or exert (especially pressure or influence), or bring something into operation.
ETYMOLOGY: Anglo-Saxon beran to carry or support.

bore¹ verb (bored, boring) 1 (often bore a hole in something) to make a hole in it by drilling. 2 to produce (a borehole, tunnel or mine, etc) by drilling. 3 intrans said of a racehorse or an athlete: to push against other competitors so as to gain advantage in a race. noun 1 the hollow barrel of a gun, or the cavity inside any such tube. 2 a in compounds the diameter of the hollow barrel of a gun, especially to show which size bullets the gun requires • 12-bore shotgun; b the diameter of the cavity inside any such tube or pipe. Also called calibre, gauge. 3 a borehole. 4 Austral an artesian well.
ETYMOLOGY: Anglo-Saxon borian.

bore² verb (bored, boring) to make someone feel tired and uninterested, by being dull, tedious, uninteresting, unimaginative, etc. noun 1 a dull, uninteresting or tedious person or thing. 2 colloq something that causes a certain amount of irritation or annoyance; a nuisance. bored adj tired and uninterested from being unoccupied or under-occupied. boredom noun the state of being bored. boring adj tedious and uninteresting. boringly adverb.
ETYMOLOGY: 18c.

bore³ noun a solitary high wave of water resembling a wall, that moves rapidly upstream, gradually losing height, caused by constriction of the spring tide as it enters a narrow shallow estuary.
ETYMOLOGY: 17c: from Norse bara a wave or swell.