1 [bawr, bohr]
verb (used with object), bored, boring.
to form, make, or construct (a tunnel, mine, well, passage, etc.) by hollowing out, cutting through, or removing a core of material: to bore a tunnel through the Alps; to bore an oil well 3000 feet deep.
Machinery. to enlarge (a hole) to a precise diameter with a cutting tool within the hole, by rotating either the tool or the work.
to force (an opening), as through a crowd, by persistent forward thrusting (usually followed by through or into ); to force or make (a passage).
verb (used without object), bored, boring.
to make a hole in a solid substance with a rotary cutting instrument.
Machinery. to enlarge a hole to a precise diameter.
(of a substance) to admit of being bored: Certain types of steel do not bore well.
a hole made or enlarged by boring.
the inside diameter of a hole, tube, or hollow cylindrical object or device, such as a bushing or bearing, engine cylinder, or barrel of a gun.

before 900; Middle English; Old English borian; cognate with Old High German borōn, Old Norse bora, Latin forāre

boreable, borable, adjective

board, bored, committee, council, panel, trust (see synonym study at trust).

1. perforate, drill. 10. caliber. Unabridged


2 [bawr, bohr]
verb (used with object), bored, boring.
a dull, tiresome, or uncongenial person.

1760–70; of uncertain origin

1. fatigue, tire, annoy.

1. amuse; thrill, enrapture.


3 [bawr, bohr]
an abrupt rise of tidal water moving rapidly inland from the mouth of an estuary.
Also called tidal bore.

1275–1325; Middle English bare < Old Norse bāra wave


4 [bawr, bohr]
simple past tense of bear1.


1 [bair]
to produce by natural growth: a tree that bears fruit.
to conduct (oneself): to bear oneself bravely.
to suffer; endure; undergo: to bear the blame.
to carry; bring: to bear gifts.
to lead; guide; take: They bore him home.
to have and be entitled to: to bear title.
to exhibit; show: to bear a resemblance.
to be located or situated: The lighthouse bears due north.
Verb phrases
bear down,
to press or weigh down.
bear down on/upon,
to press or weigh down on.
to strive toward.
to approach something rapidly.
bear off,
Nautical. to steer away.





2 [bair]
noun, plural bears (especially collectively) bear.
Informal. a player at cards who rarely bluffs.
(initial capital letter) Russia.
verb (used with object), beared, bearing.


bearlike, adjective Unabridged
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World English Dictionary
bear1 (bɛə)
vb , bears, bearing, bore, borne
1.  to support or hold up; sustain
2.  to bring or convey: to bear gifts
6.  to tolerate or endure: she couldn't bear him
10.  to transmit or spread: to bear gossip
16.  bear a hand to give assistance

bear2 (bɛə)
n , pl bears, bear
3.  a clumsy, churlish, or ill-mannered person
4.  a teddy bear
5.  stock exchange
 b.  Compare bull (as modifier): a bear market
vb , bears, bear, bears, bearing, beared
Related: ursine

Bear (bɛə)
1.  Ursa Major the English name for Ursa Minor
2.  an informal name for Russia

bore1 (bɔː)
1.  to produce (a hole) in (a material) by use of a drill, auger, or other cutting tool
2.  to increase the diameter of (a hole), as by an internal turning operation on a lathe or similar machine
3.  (tr) to produce (a hole in the ground, tunnel, mine shaft, etc) by digging, drilling, cutting, etc
4.  informal (intr) (of a horse or athlete in a race) to push other competitors, esp in order to try to get them out of the way
5.  a hole or tunnel in the ground, esp one drilled in search of minerals, oil, etc
6.  a.  a circular hole in a material produced by drilling, turning, or drawing
 b.  the diameter of such a hole
7.  a.  the hollow part of a tube or cylinder, esp of a gun barrel
 b.  the diameter of such a hollow part; calibre
8.  (Austral) an artesian well
[Old English borian; related to Old Norse bora, Old High German borōn to bore, Latin forāre to pierce, Greek pharos ploughing, phárunxpharynx]

bore2 (bɔː)
1.  (tr) to tire or make weary by being dull, repetitious, or uninteresting
2.  a dull, repetitious, or uninteresting person, activity, or state
[C18: of unknown origin]

bore3 (bɔː)
a high steep-fronted wave moving up a narrow estuary, caused by the tide
[C17: from Old Norse bāra wave, billow]

bore4 (bɔː)
the past tense of bear

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Word Origin & History



O.E. borian "to bore through, perforate," from bor "auger," from P.Gmc. *buron (cf. O.N. bora, Swed. borra, O.H.G. boron, M.Du. boren, Ger. bohren), from PIE base *bher- (2) "to cut with a sharp point" (cf. Gk. pharao "I plow," L. forare "to bore, pierce," O.C.S. barjo "to strike, fight," Albanian brime
"hole"). The meaning "diameter of a tube" is first recorded 1570s; hence figurative slang full bore (1936) "at maximum speed," from notion of unchoked carburetor on an engine. Sense of "be tiresome or dull" first attested 1768, a vogue word c.1780-81 according to Grose; possibly a figurative extension of "to move forward slowly and persistently," as a boring tool does.
"The secret of being a bore is to tell everything." [Voltaire, "Sept Discours en Vers sur l'Homme," 1738]

p.t. of bear (v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
bore   (bôr)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. In fluid mechanics, a jump in the level of moving water, generally propagating in the opposite direction to the current. Strong ocean tides can cause bores to propagate up rivers.

    1. The white, shallow portion of a wave after it breaks. The bore carries ocean water onto the beach.

    2. A tidal wave caused by the surge of a flood tide upstream in a narrowing estuary or by colliding tidal currents.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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Slang Dictionary

bear definition

  1. n.
    a difficult task. : This problem is a real bear.
  2. n.
  3. n.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw-Hill Education.
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Bible Dictionary

Bear definition


Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Example sentences
For instance, the wellhead and bore hole are fractured deep into the bore hole.
Much cheaper to drill out of town and the bore horizontally to get to reserves
  under the town.
Miles apart and years ago, I sampled two fruit tarts that bore delicious
Still, she appears to have fallen in love with him, and bore his child.
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