bearing

noun (POSITION)

/ˈbeə.rɪŋ/

/ˈber.ɪŋ/

Definition

get/find your bearings › to discover your exact position: The road system was so complicated that we had to stop to get our bearings several times.General location and orientation › to succeed in becoming familiar with a new situation: It takes a while to get your bearings when you start a new job.Adapting and attuning to somethingAdapting and modifying Changing lose your bearings › If you lose your bearings, you do not know where you are: They lost their bearings in the dark.General location and orientation › [C] specialized an exact position, measured clockwise (= to the right) from north. Bearings are given as three numbers: Nottingham is 70 km from Birmingham on a bearing of 045 degrees. The yachtsman took a bearing on (= found his position by using) the lighthouse.Points of the compassDirection of motionGeneral location and orientation

(Definition of bearing noun (POSITION) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)