From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbearingbear‧ing /ˈbeərɪŋ $ ˈber-/ noun 1 → have a/some/no etc bearing on something2 → lose your bearings3 → get/find your bearings4 [singular, uncountable]CHARACTER/PERSONALITY the way in which you move, stand, or behave, especially when this shows your character5 [countable]SGTM technical a direction or angle that is shown by a compass learning to take a compass bearing6 [countable]TPART technical a part of a machine that turns on another part, or in which a turning part is held → ball bearing
Examples from the Corpus
bearing• It took her a minute to get her bearings.• The lady is tall, strong, and dignified in her bearing.• If I may speak for the Law Officers of the Crown, we are scrupulous in bearing that vital principle in mind.• In many cases, such thinking has no bearing on what is happening in the regions.• The fact that discrimination is unintentional has no bearing on its legality or otherwise.• Assumptions about the rate of payment by debtors may have a significant bearing on the expected profitability of the project.• It had some bearing at all levels of society.take ... bearing• We spent that afternoon taking our bearings.• The reactions and thrust of each deck is taken on elastomeric bearings and by ballast walls.• But, for now ... she took the letter bearing Ven's address and telephone number from her bag.• The second he used to take its magnetic bearing, which he then scribbled into his daily log.• It is this unvarying ubiquitous signal that we ourselves use, of course, when we take our bearings with a compass.• High fences around Admiralty installations gave good views as the birds perched briefly on the wires, taking their bearings. 