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to bring to bear

to bring to bear

31 5.1
To use effort or knowledge to solve a problem
  • phrasal verb
  • Formal
translation icon : ejercer
  • The whole idea of MIT is to bring knowledge to bear on the greatest problems in the world.
  • bring pressure to bear
  • bring their influence to bear
  • bring resources to bear

Morality had to be brought to bear against this system.

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Examples

  • You have to decide what kind of theory you're going to bring to bear on that question.

  • The council can bring political pressure to bear on them.

  • Now you can actually bring to bear the resources of reason against it.

  • Is there stuff that as IT people that we could bring to bear to help this problem?

  • I want the moral force of international opinion brought to bear on the British government.

  • You can be sure that all of our considerable resources are being brought to bear on the situation.

  • The challenge is to bring theory to bear on facts in ways that permit explanation and prediction.

    Academic text (1990)
  • We are bringing to bear an array of airpower that has made a huge difference.

  • Additionally, the full resources, expertise, and legitimacy of the international community could be brought to bear.

    Academic text (2013)
  • The team decided to bring all their knowledge to bear on the challenging project.

Synonyms

to exert
vsto bring to bear
58 4.3

Use power or influence to make something happen

applies a wider range of means like effort knowledge or resources

Antonyms

1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

256 3.8

Fail to care for someone or something you should look after

How Strong

to mobilize
76 5.8
to wield
124 4.4
to exert
58 4.3
to bring to bear
  • Formal
31 5.1
to apply
374 2.8
to use
1.0

Surface Forms

bring to bear infinitive
bringing to bear present participle
brings to bear third person singular
brought to bear past participle

Morphology

bring + to + bear

The core idea 'to use or apply something' is partly inferable from 'bring' (to move/produce) combined with a less common sense of 'bear' (to carry or exert), so there is a motivated compositional link. However, the fixed legal/formal collocation 'bring to bear (on)' and the specialised sense of 'bear' are not fully predictable for a B1 learner, making the expression only partially transparent.

Etymology

Bring to bear comes from the image of turning a heavy gun or tool so its force is pointed at a target, and bear here means 'to aim'. So, to bring to bear your skills or resources is to 'apply' or direct them to solve a problem.