The internet is full of incorrect spellings of homophones in expressions such as bear with me (vs. bare with me). The verb bare means “to reveal” or “to uncover.” When you’re asking someone to bear with you, you’re asking them to be patient, or forbearing, with you, not to uncover themself with you.
Bear with me or bare with me?
If you’re wondering whether the correct spelling is bear with me or bare with me, the answer is bear with me.
Bare and bear sound alike, so it’s easy to see why people confuse the two. Do you have them straight in your mind? Bare is a verb that means “to uncover.” The verb bear means to endure or to be patient; keep that in mind and the expression bear with me will make sense. What other homophones would you like to master today? How about starting with discrete and discreet?
How to remember the spelling of bear with me
Are you still stumped? Here’s an easy way to differentiate bear from bare. You learned that bear as a verb means “to be patient.” In its noun form, bear refers to a large furry animal. Combining these two definitions into a silly sentence will help you remember that the correct phrase is bear with me, not bare with me: “A patient bear will always bear with you, but an impatient bear just might devour you!”
Examples of bear with me
Here are some online examples that use the phrase correctly:
