as in weighing (on or upon)
to push steadily against with some force
you need to bear down on that cap a bit to get it to latch tightly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
bearing down on
2 of 2phrase
as in highlighting
to indicate the importance of by centering attention on
Our manager bore down on the need to meet upcoming deadlines.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bearing (down on)
Verb
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The National Institutes of Health has orders to devote every whiteboard in every conference room to this pressing question.—
Alexandra Petri,
The Atlantic,
14 Feb. 2026 -
On the tarmac, the lovers crouch, pressing their foreheads together, as if knowledgeable about their impending end.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Most of the time, a child who is shoving at the playground or refusing to take turns with the blocks at daycare is just testing the boundaries of acceptable behavior.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes has been suspended one game for shoving the Washington Wizards mascot during pregame introductions, the NBA announced Wednesday.—
The Athletic Staff,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Instead of compressing observations into still images, RIMS preserves time-dependent information and separates radio signals by direction.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Such tests could be used in research toward compressing a core of uranium with explosives — something that is needed for an implosion-style nuclear weapon.—
Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Cite this Entry
“Bearing (down on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bearing%20%28down%20on%29. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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