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bearer

/ˈbɛrər/
/ˈbɛrə/
IPA guide

Other forms: bearers

A bearer is a person who carries or delivers something. If you hate to be the bearer of bad news, don't become a traffic cop.

If you're the flag bearer in a parade, it means you march at the front gripping a flag, and a coffin bearer holds one end of the coffin at a funeral. You'll often find the word in the phrase "bearer of bad news" or "bearer of bad tidings." In the mid-17th century, the word bearer was primarily used to mean "person who carried dead bodies to the grave."

Definitions of bearer
  1. noun
    a messenger who bears or presents
    “a bearer of good tidings”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    courier, messenger
    a person who carries a message
  2. noun
    someone whose employment involves carrying something
    synonyms: carrier, toter
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    type of:
    traveler, traveller
    a person who changes location
  3. noun
    one of the mourners carrying the coffin at a funeral
    synonyms: pallbearer
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    type of:
    griever, lamenter, mourner, sorrower
    a person who is feeling grief (as grieving over someone who has died)
  4. noun
    the person who is in possession of a check or note or bond or document of title that is endorsed to him or to whoever holds it
    “the bond was marked `payable to bearer'”
    synonyms: holder
    see moresee less
    type of:
    capitalist
    a person who invests capital in a business (especially a large business)
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘bearer'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of gold-punch.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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