Bear With Me | Meaning & Example Sentences

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.

Examples: “Bear with me” in a sentence
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.

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.

Examples: Bear with me vs. bare with me
  • 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.
Note
“Bear” and “bare” should not be confused in general, and nor should the two past participle forms of “bear”: “born” and “borne.”

Please bear with me

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.”

Examples: “Please bear with me” in a sentence
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).

Examples: “Bearing with me” in a sentence
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 organization.

Example: “Bear with us” in a sentence
The servers are down temporarily. We apologize for the inconvenience and ask you to bear with us. 

Other interesting language articles

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.

Frequently asked questions

What does “please bear with me” mean?

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”).

Note
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
Note
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.”

Sources in this article

We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.

This Scribbr article

Ryan, E. (September 7, 2022). Bear With Me | Meaning & Example Sentences. Scribbr. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://www.scribbr.com/definitions/bear-with-me/

Is this article helpful?
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.