bear down
Apply more pressure
Bear down means to apply intense pressure or effort.
You can bear down on an opponent to overwhelm them, or bear down on a task to concentrate fiercely: She bore down and finished the report in an hour.
In childbirth, bearing down is the pushing effort during labor.
The phrase also describes approaching forcefully: The truck bore down on them.
Reduced, potent form
- determinationFirmness of purpose
- resolveFirmness of purpose
- effortApplied energy toward goals
- perseveranceSustained resolve despite obstacles
tenacity · dedication · commitment · diligence · single-mindedness · attention · discipline · intentness
Force something away
- strainExcessive stretching force
- exertionVigorous physical effort
- forceStrength or compulsion
- intensityStrength or force level
grit · endurance · persistence · drive · fortitude · resilience · compress · weight
concentrate
Reduced, potent form
- determinationFirmness of purpose
- resolveFirmness of purpose
- effortApplied energy toward goals
perseverance · tenacity · dedication · commitment · diligence · single-mindedness · attention · discipline · intentness · absorption
push
Force something away
intensity · grit · endurance · persistence · drive · fortitude · resilience · compress · weight · squeeze
contractions
Shortened word forms
midwife · dilation · crowning · birth · epidural · obstetrics · maternity · newborn · parturition · active labor
- exertionsstrain, struggle, strive, toil, labor
- burdensburden, load, onus, obligations, weight
- focusfocus, concentration, attention, focal point, concentrate
- maximum effortall-out, full throttle, go all out, go hard, all in
- Nautical Idiomsall hands on deck, smooth sailing, three sheets to the wind, in the same boat, rock the boat
- hold downpin, grip, press, secure, fasten