Published on 7 September 2022 by Eoghan Ryan. Revised on 6 February 2023.
Bear with me is an expression meaning ‘be patient with me’. It’s typically used along with a conjunction (e.g., ‘as’ or ‘while’) to explain why you’re asking for patience. It can also be used by itself when the reason is already known.
Bear with me while I try to fix the coffee machine.
Our operating system is down at the moment. Can you bear with me as I fill out the form manually?
Our restaurant is very busy this evening; please bear with me while I try to find you a table.
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Table of contents
Bear with me or bare with me
Please bear with me
Bearing with me
Bear with us
Other interesting language articles
Frequently asked questions
Bear with me or bare with me
‘Bare with me’ is often mistakenly used instead of bear with me, but it’s incorrect and should be avoided.
‘Bear’ is used as a verb meaning ‘carry’ or ‘endure’ in this expression (not as a noun referring to the animal). ‘Bare’ is usually an adjective; it can also function as a verb meaning ‘uncover’, but that wouldn’t make sense in this expression.
You’ll have to bare with me while I try to fix the problem.
You’ll have to bear with me while I try to fix the problem.
‘Bear’ and ‘bare’ should not be confused in general, and nor should the two past participle forms of ‘bear’: ‘born’ and ‘borne’. ‘Bear’ (not ‘bare’) is also used in the phrase ‘bear in mind‘.
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Please bear with me has the same meaning as the basic phrase, but it’s more polite. Another way to soften the phrase is to formulate it as a question, potentially also with ‘please’.
Please bear with me while I try to locate you in our system.
Could you bear with me for a moment, please?
Bearing with me
Bearing with me is a version of the phrase with the participle ‘bearing’. It occurs, for example, when you’re thanking someone for their patience or referring to the action in general (rather than in the imperative).
Thank you for bearing with me.
After bearing with me for a moment, you’ll be able to access your account.
Bear with us
The phrase can also become the plural bear with us when the speaker represents a group or organisation.
The servers are down temporarily. We apologise for the inconvenience and ask you to bear with us.
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If you want to know more about commonly confused words, definitions, and differences between US and UK spellings, make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations, examples, and quizzes.
Please bear with me is a more polite version of the expression bear with me, meaning ‘have patience with me’.
It’s typically used along with a conjunction (e.g., ‘while’), to explain why you’re asking for patience (e.g., ‘please bear with me while I try to find the correct file’).
Bear and bare are often confused, but in this case, ‘bear with me’ is the only correct spelling.
What is a synonym of ‘bear with me’?
Some synonyms for bear with me include:
(Please) be patient
(Please) hold on
Just a moment
(Please) stand by
(Please) wait
Bear and bare are often confused, but in this case, ‘bear with me’ is the only correct spelling.
What does ‘bare with me’ mean?
‘Bare with me’ is a common misspelling of the phrase bear with me. While ‘bare’ can be used as a verb meaning ‘uncover’, it doesn’t make sense in this phrase. The verb you need is ‘bear’, meaning ‘carry’ or ‘endure’.
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Ryan, E. (2023, February 06). Bear With Me | Meaning & Example Sentences. Scribbr. Retrieved 18 June 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/definition/bear-with-me-meaning/
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Eoghan Ryan
Eoghan has a lot of experience with theses and dissertations at bachelor's, MA, and PhD level. He has taught university English courses, helping students to improve their research and writing.
Introduction: My name is Francesca Jacobs Ret, I am a innocent, super, beautiful, charming, lucky, gentle, clever person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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