bearing

US /ˈbɛɹɪŋ/ UK /ˈbɛə̯ɹɪŋ/ See IPA manual

Freq #5819

Meanings

1

noun
The way a connection or fact affects or relates to something.

Your opinion has no bearing on my decision.
2

noun
The way a person stands, moves, or behaves.

She walks with a confident, dignified bearing.
3

noun
A sense of where you are or which direction you are going.

Let me check the map and get my bearings.
4

noun
A direction or angle, usually measured from north.

The ship sailed on a bearing of due east.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms bearings

Derived forms apple-bearingarmsbearingbearinglessbearinglikecasebearingchild-bearingchildbearingcoal-bearingcupbearingdeath-bearingeverbearingflower-bearing

Related forms abec

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

armorial bearing
a heraldic design or emblem displayed on a shield

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

Beware of Greeks bearing gifts

Etymology

From Middle English beringe, berynge, berende, berande, berand, from Old English berende (“bearing; fruitful”) (also as synonym Old English bǣrende), from Proto-Germanic *berandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *beraną (“to bear; carry”), equivalent to bear + -ing.

beringe Middle English berende Old English *berandz Proto-Germanic *beraną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Maritime & Sailing Aviation & Flight General Vocabulary

External links

# bearing

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈbɛɹɪŋ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbɛə̯ɹɪŋ/
**Frequency rank:** 5819

## Meanings
1. The way a connection or fact affects or relates to something.
2. The way a person stands, moves, or behaves.
3. A sense of where you are or which direction you are going.
4. A direction or angle, usually measured from north.

## Examples
- Your opinion has no bearing on my decision.
- She walks with a confident, dignified bearing.
- Let me check the map and get my bearings.
- The ship sailed on a bearing of due east.

## Derived Forms
- apple-bearing
- armsbearing
- bearingless
- bearinglike
- casebearing
- child-bearing
- childbearing
- coal-bearing
- cupbearing
- death-bearing
- everbearing
- flower-bearing

## Related Forms
- abec

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: beringe
- Root: berende
- Root: *berandz
- Root: *beraną

## Etymology
From Middle English beringe, berynge, berende, berande, berand, from Old English berende (“bearing; fruitful”) (also as synonym Old English bǣrende), from Proto-Germanic *berandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *beraną (“to bear; carry”), equivalent to bear + -ing.

## AI Etymology
Bearing comes from Middle English beringe, berynge, berende, berande, berand, from Old English berende (“bearing; fruitful”) (also as synonym Old English bǣrende), from Proto-Germanic *berandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *beraną (“to bear; carry”), equivalent to bear + -ing.

## Topics
- Maritime & Sailing
- Aviation & Flight
- General Vocabulary

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