To take bearings

To take bearings
Bearing Bear"ing (b[^a]r"[i^]ng), n. 1. The manner in which one bears or conducts one's self; mien; behavior; carriage. [1913 Webster]

I know him by his bearing. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

2. Patient endurance; suffering without complaint. [1913 Webster]

3. The situation of one object, with respect to another, such situation being supposed to have a connection with the object, or influence upon it, or to be influenced by it; hence, relation; connection. [1913 Webster]

But of this frame, the bearings and the ties, The strong connections, nice dependencies. --Pope. [1913 Webster]

4. Purport; meaning; intended significance; aspect. [1913 Webster]

5. The act, power, or time of producing or giving birth; as, a tree in full bearing; a tree past bearing. [1913 Webster]

[His mother] in travail of his bearing. --R. of Gloucester. [1913 Webster]

6. (Arch.) (a) That part of any member of a building which rests upon its supports; as, a lintel or beam may have four inches of bearing upon the wall. (b) The portion of a support on which anything rests. (c) Improperly, the unsupported span; as, the beam has twenty feet of bearing between its supports. [1913 Webster]

7. (Mach.) (a) The part of an axle or shaft in contact with its support, collar, or boxing; the journal. (b) The part of the support on which a journal rests and rotates. [1913 Webster]

8. (Her.) Any single emblem or charge in an escutcheon or coat of arms -- commonly in the pl. [1913 Webster]

A carriage covered with armorial bearings. --Thackeray. [1913 Webster]

9. (Naut.) (a) The situation of a distant object, with regard to a ship's position, as on the bow, on the lee quarter, etc.; the direction or point of the compass in which an object is seen; as, the bearing of the cape was W. N. W. (b) pl. The widest part of a vessel below the plank-sheer. (c) pl. The line of flotation of a vessel when properly trimmed with cargo or ballast. [1913 Webster]

{Ball bearings}. See under {Ball}.

{To bring one to his bearings}, to bring one to his senses.

{To lose one's bearings}, to become bewildered.

{To take bearings}, to ascertain by the compass the position of an object; to ascertain the relation of one object or place to another; to ascertain one's position by reference to landmarks or to the compass; hence (Fig.), to ascertain the condition of things when one is in trouble or perplexity. [1913 Webster]

Syn: Deportment; gesture; mien; behavior; manner; carriage; demeanor; port; conduct; direction; relation; tendency; influence. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • bearings — parts of a machine which bear the friction, 1791, from prp. of BEAR (Cf. bear) (v.). Meaning direction from a point of reference is from 1630s; to take (one s) bearings is from 1711 …   Etymology dictionary

  • take your bearings — get/find/take your ˈbearings idiom to make yourself familiar with your surroundings in order to find out where you are or to feel comfortable in a place • He paused at the top of the hill, trying to get his bearings. Main entry: ↑bearingidiom …   Useful english dictionary

  • Ball bearings — Bearing Bear ing (b[^a]r [i^]ng), n. 1. The manner in which one bears or conducts one s self; mien; behavior; carriage. [1913 Webster] I know him by his bearing. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. Patient endurance; suffering without complaint. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • To bring one to his bearings — Bearing Bear ing (b[^a]r [i^]ng), n. 1. The manner in which one bears or conducts one s self; mien; behavior; carriage. [1913 Webster] I know him by his bearing. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. Patient endurance; suffering without complaint. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • To lose one's bearings — Bearing Bear ing (b[^a]r [i^]ng), n. 1. The manner in which one bears or conducts one s self; mien; behavior; carriage. [1913 Webster] I know him by his bearing. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. Patient endurance; suffering without complaint. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • get your bearings — get/find/your bearings phrase to find out where you are and where other things are It took her a moment to get her bearings in the dark. Thesaurus: to find out where you are or where you are goingsynonym Main entry: bearing * * * …   Useful english dictionary

  • find your bearings — get/find/your bearings phrase to find out where you are and where other things are It took her a moment to get her bearings in the dark. Thesaurus: to find out where you are or where you are goingsynonym Main entry: bearing * * * …   Useful english dictionary

  • To take a departure — Departure De*par ture (?; 135), n. [From {Depart}.] 1. Division; separation; putting away. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] No other remedy . . . but absolute departure. Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. Separation or removal from a place; the act or process of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • To take the field — Field Field (f[=e]ld), n. [OE. feld, fild, AS. feld; akin to D. veld, G. feld, Sw. f[ a]lt, Dan. felt, Icel. fold field of grass, AS. folde earth, land, ground, OS. folda.] 1. Cleared land; land suitable for tillage or pasture; cultivated ground; …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Compass — This article is about the direction finding instrument used in navigation. For other uses, see Compass (disambiguation). A simple dry magnetic pocket compass …   Wikipedia

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