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.
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.
- 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.
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.” Scribbr’s paragraph rewriter can help you vary the tone of texts to reflect your meaning.
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).
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.
Other interesting articles
If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or writing rules make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!
Academic Writing
AI
Frequently asked questions
Cite this Scribbr article
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
Ryan, E. (2024, July 24). Bear With Me | Meaning & Example Sentences. Scribbr. Retrieved June 17, 2025, from https://www.scribbr.com/definitions/bear-with-me/