To take bearings

Bearing \Bear"ing\ (b[^a]r"[i^]ng), n.
   1. The manner in which one bears or conducts one's self;
      mien; behavior; carriage.
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            I know him by his bearing.            --Shak.
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   2. Patient endurance; suffering without complaint.
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   3. The situation of one object, with respect to another, such
      situation being supposed to have a connection with the
      object, or influence upon it, or to be influenced by it;
      hence, relation; connection.
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            But of this frame, the bearings and the ties,
            The strong connections, nice dependencies. --Pope.
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   4. Purport; meaning; intended significance; aspect.
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   5. The act, power, or time of producing or giving birth; as,
      a tree in full bearing; a tree past bearing.
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            [His mother] in travail of his bearing. --R. of
                                                  Gloucester.
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   6. (Arch.)
      (a) That part of any member of a building which rests upon
          its supports; as, a lintel or beam may have four
          inches of bearing upon the wall.
      (b) The portion of a support on which anything rests.
      (c) Improperly, the unsupported span; as, the beam has
          twenty feet of bearing between its supports.
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   7. (Mach.)
      (a) The part of an axle or shaft in contact with its
          support, collar, or boxing; the journal.
      (b) The part of the support on which a journal rests and
          rotates.
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   8. (Her.) Any single emblem or charge in an escutcheon or
      coat of arms -- commonly in the pl.
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            A carriage covered with armorial bearings.
                                                  --Thackeray.
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   9. (Naut.)
      (a) The situation of a distant object, with regard to a
          ship's position, as on the bow, on the lee quarter,
          etc.; the direction or point of the compass in which
          an object is seen; as, the bearing of the cape was W.
          N. W.
      (b) pl. The widest part of a vessel below the plank-sheer.
      (c) pl. The line of flotation of a vessel when properly
          trimmed with cargo or ballast.
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   {Ball bearings}. See under {Ball}.

   {To bring one to his bearings}, to bring one to his senses.
      

   {To lose one's bearings}, to become bewildered.

   {To take bearings}, to ascertain by the compass the position
      of an object; to ascertain the relation of one object or
      place to another; to ascertain one's position by reference
      to landmarks or to the compass; hence (Fig.), to ascertain
      the condition of things when one is in trouble or
      perplexity.
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   Syn: Deportment; gesture; mien; behavior; manner; carriage;
        demeanor; port; conduct; direction; relation; tendency;
        influence.
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