Definition of "bearing"

bearing¹

/ˈbɛə̯ɹɪŋ/

verb
1. present participle and gerund of bear
adjective
not comparable
1. (in combination) That bears (some specified thing).
2. Of a beam, column, or other device, carrying weight or load.

bearing²

/ˈbɛə̯ɹɪŋ/

noun
plural bearings
1. (mechanical engineering) A mechanical device that supports another part and/or reduces friction.
2. (navigation, nautical) The horizontal angle between the direction of an object and another object, or between it and that of true north; a heading or direction.
  Quotations
  This volume would have been at least twice as large, if I had not made bold to strike out innumerable passages relating to the winds and tides, as well as to the variations and bearings in the several voyages, together with the minute descriptions of the management of the ship in storms, in the style of sailors; likewise the account of longitudes and latitudes; [...]
  1726 October 28, Richard Sympson [pseudonym], [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], (please specify |part=I to IV), page X
3. (in the plural, especially in phrases such as 'get one's bearings') One's understanding of one's orientation or relative position, literally or figuratively.
4. Relevance; a relationship or connection.
  Quotations
  But of this frame, the bearings and the ties, / The strong connections, nice dependencies.
  1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: Printed for J[ohn] Wilford, […]
5. One's posture, demeanor, or manner.
  Quotations
  I know him by his bearing.
  1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act II, scene i]
  The little green men were clearly professional soldiers by their bearing, carried Russian weapons, and wore Russian combat fatigues, but they had no identifying insignia. Vladimir Putin originally denied they were Russian soldiers; that April, he confirmed they were.
  2019 March 18, Steven Pifer, Five years after Crimea’s illegal annexation, the issue is no closer to resolution‎, The Center for International Security and Cooperation
6. (architecture) That part of any member of a building which rests upon its supports.
7. (architecture) The portion of a support on which anything rests.
8. (architecture, proscribed) The unsupported span.
9. (heraldry) Any single emblem or charge in an escutcheon or coat of arms.
  Quotations
  Jos Sedley's open carriage, with its magnificent armorial bearings.
  1848, William Makepeace Thackeray, Notes of a Journey from Cornhill to Grand Cairo

Definition of "bearing"

bearing1

verb

adjective

bearing2

noun

Quotations

Quotations

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Quotations

bearing¹

bearing²