Your English: Collocations: bear

Sharp increases in the price of oil often lead to a number of gloomy headlines around the world. Airlines have to bear the costs of the price rise, while the poor old consumer has to bear the burden of rising petrol prices. Small businesses, we are told, will bear the brunt of a strike by oil tanker drivers. This last expression means 'to feel the full impact of something' and is virtually the only everyday use of the word brunt (it can also follow the verbs take and carry). The effects of an oil price rise often don't bear thinking about (are too awful to contemplate), while the general public will no doubt bear a grudge against the government for its handling of the situation (have an unfriendly attitude towards it because of what it has done).

This situation also bears a strong resemblance to (is very similar to) the situation in the 1970s when oil prices rose sharply. The economies of many countries bore the scars (continued to feel the effects) of that crisis for many years. You have to bear in mind (remember), however, that these things go in cycles. It appears that efforts to find alternative sources of energy to power vehicles bear fruit (to produce positive results) because of this. For example, the launch of Honda's hydrogen-powered car bears witness to this (is evidence of this).