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(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
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Bare or Bear?
The difference between "Bare" and "Bear"
"Bare" and "bear" are easy to confuse. The confusion arises because, knowing a "bear" is a large mammal (e.g., a brown bear), writers feel uncomfortable using "bear" in its other meanings. In fact, "bear" is a very versatile word. "Bare" is far less versatile. It means empty or exposed (e.g., without clothes). Here are some common expressions with "bear":- Bear with me
- Bear fruit
- Bear in mind
- Bear the cost
- Bear the pain
- Bear the brunt
- Bear the burden
- Bear the consequences
- Bear the thought
- Bear the weight
- Bear the name

More about "Bare" and "Bear"
Bare
The adjective "bare" means uncovered, naked, exposed (i.e., without cover, clothing, or cladding), or empty.Example sentences with "bare":
- Don't go out in bare feet. You'll catch a cold.
- Was the protestor totally bare when he ran in the meeting room?
- You need to cover those pipes. Bare pipes will freeze this winter.
- We haven't done our grocery shopping this week, and I'm afraid the cupboards are bare.
- Peter ploughed those fields with his bear hands?
Bear
The word "bear" has four main meanings:(1) To carry (in many senses of the word).
- We come bearing gifts for your chief.
- Our camels do not mate regularly, but we are expecting Tsu Tsu to bear her first baby next season.
- This small tree bears hundreds of apples every year.
- Who will bear the responsibility for this vandalism?
- My auntie is the tall lady bearing the green hat.
- He bears himself with utmost dignity.
- You bear a resemblance to your mother.
- Does this document bear your signature?
- I bear bad news, I'm afraid.
- Mrs Taylor cannot bear the constant drone of the generator.
- I have learnt to bear the cold.
- It is very easy to endure the difficulties of one's enemies. It is the successes of one's friends that are hard to bear.
(Playwright Oscar Wilde)
- Bear left at the next two Y junctions.
- This track bears north for the next 10 miles and then bears east as far as the lake.

A Video Summary
Here is a short video summarizing the difference between "bear" and "bare."Bore, Borne, and Born
The past tense of "to bear" is bore. For example:- They bore gifts for the chief.
- You bore a remarkable resemblance to your mother when you were younger.
- The burden borne by the managerial team was simply too heavy.
- I was London-born.
- She was born in New York.
- The child was borne to a witch.
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