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Glite Dictionary
to bear down upon

to bear down upon

1 8.2
Sail a ship close to another one, usually to attack
  • phrasal verb
  • Specialized
translation icon : dirigirse hacia
  • "Uh-oh!" Reinforcements were bearing down upon them from the direction of a distant medieval castle, cutting off that line of travel.

Examples

  • Then he caught sight of the tall, tanned woman, who, darting this way and that to avoid colliding with people in her path, was bearing down upon him.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The fishing vessel was bearing down upon the trawler, signaling to dock for the day.

  • And now another major storm bears down upon that same region.

    Blog text (30)

  • It was bearing down upon them.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I slipped it over the bitts at once because, with our lighter draft, we were bearing down upon him and we must pull away.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • "Gudjen bore down upon him from around the bedcurtain."

    Fiction book (1993)

  • He rolls over as the Warg bears down upon him.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The man, bent to the oars of the small boat for the purpose of steering, not rowing (for the rushing tide carried the boat firmly in its grasp), did not seem to notice us as we bore down upon him.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The navy ships are bearing down upon the enemy fleet, ready for a confrontation.

  • As the storm bore down upon the coastline, residents prepared for heavy winds and rain.

Synonyms

to bear down
vsto bear down upon
16 5.8

Move quickly and forcefully toward someone or something to attack

focuses on fast forceful attack rather than close nautical approach
to bear down on
vsto bear down upon
  • Specialized
7 7.7

To move a ship toward another ship often to attack it

is more specific stressing close approach rather than general intent

Antonyms

turning away
11 5.8

Choosing to avoid someone or to stop something from happening

How Close

to collide
64 3.1
to bear down upon
  • Specialized
1 8.2
to approach
532 2.1

Surface Forms

bear down upon infinitive
bearing down upon present participle
bears down upon third person singular
bore down upon past
bore down upon past participle

Morphology

bear + down + upon

The meaning 'to move toward or approach closely' can be partly inferred from the constituents: a sense of 'bear' meaning to move/steer, 'down' suggesting toward/closer, and 'upon' indicating direction onto a target. However, the specific nautical/urgent sense and the particular phrasal-verb reading of 'bear down upon' (plus the multiple senses of 'bear' and the formal feel of 'upon') are not fully predictable for a B1 learner, so prior exposure or explanation is usually needed.

Etymology

Bear down upon comes from old sea scenes where one ship would drive forward and seem to press its weight down on another as it closed in. So the phrase came to mean 'to move towards something closely, often in a threatening way'.