abear

/əˈbɛə/

//əˈbɛə// verb

"abear" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“abear” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To put up with; to endure; to bear.

Corpus desk

Index EN-abear · abear · English

abear · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for abear
PropertyValue
Headwordabear
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈbɛə/
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “abear” in English

abearranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

abear is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /əˈbɛə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for abear, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English aberen, from Old English āberan (“to bear, carry, carry away”), from ā- (“away, out”), a- + beran (“to bear”), from Proto-Germanic *uzberaną (“to bear off, bring forth, produce”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”), equiv… The correct English form is abear, spelled A-B-E-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To put up with; to endure; to bear.
  2. 2
    To bear; to carry.
  3. 3
    To behave; to comport oneself.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how abear appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Hunder-cook, indeed! which it's what I never abore yet, and never will abear.
  2. And he seems sweet on Miss Hazel though she can’t abear him, though when I ask her about him she snaps my head off and tells me to mind my own business.

Etymology

From Middle English aberen, from Old English āberan (“to bear, carry, carry away”), from ā- (“away, out”), a- + beran (“to bear”), from Proto-Germanic *uzberaną (“to bear off, bring forth, produce”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”), equivalent to a- + bear. Cognate with Old High German irberan, Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽 (usbairan).

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "abear"?
"abear" is spelled A-B-E-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈbɛə/.
What does "abear" mean?
As a verb, "abear" means: To put up with; to endure; to bear.
How do you pronounce "abear"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abear" is /əˈbɛə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "abear"?
From Middle English aberen, from Old English āberan (“to bear, carry, carry away”), from ā- (“away, out”), a- + beran (“to bear”), from Proto-Germanic *uzberaną (“to bear off, bring forth, produce”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, carr... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list