bear downverb

• 1

  Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see bear, down.

• 2

  nauticaltransportTo steer away from the wind; to approach from windward.

• 3

  To push (someone) to the ground; to defeat, overcome.

• 4

  obsoleteTo maintain one's position against (someone) in a debate; to stand one's ground against.

  • And they sayd unto her: thou arte mad. And she bare them doune that hit was even so.
• 5

  To intensify one's efforts.

  • It's 9:41, 58 degrees, and I'm flunking out. Time to bear down.
  • When Furyk spots another Arizona alum on Tour, one of them will utter the official U of A exhortation, which dates to the 1920s, when on his deathbed the school's quarter-back urged the football team to "bear down." Few on Tour bear down like Furyk. He has his plan and sticks to it.
• 6

  To approach in a determined manner.

  • Huth headed wide inside two minutes, Andy Wilkinson blasted over from Shotton's cut-back and Jones was squeezed out when bearing down on goal.
• 7

  To exert downward pressure on one's abdomen, as in giving birth, forcing out feces, and some similar bodily maneuvers.