bear

Perhaps the most common use for the word "bear" is in describing an animal that looks like this:

But did you know that the word "bear" is also a verb? As a verb, "bear" means to tolerate (or accept) something that is difficult, or you can use it when describing an amount of weight that something can support.

• My tooth hurts so much, I can’t bear the pain. (I can’t tolerate the pain.)
• How do you bear working with difficult customers all day?
• Reema couldn’t bear living with her husband any longer, so she divorced him.
• The wall is bearing a lot of weight for the house. (The wall is supporting a lot of weight.)
• She bears the weight of her responsibilities very well.

It’s worth noting that the word "bear" is also used when describing birth, but it’s usually used in the passive voice:

• A: Where were you born?
• B: I was born in France.
• A: What year were you born?
• B: I was born in 1973.