bear vs bull

bear

noun
  • An investor who sells commodities, securities, or futures in anticipation of a fall in prices. 

  • The meat of this animal. 

  • A state policeman (short for Smokey Bear). 

  • A portable punching machine. 

  • A block covered with coarse matting, used to scour the deck. 

  • A large, generally omnivorous mammal (a few species are purely carnivorous or herbivorous), related to the dog and raccoon, having shaggy hair, a very small tail, and flat feet; a member of the family Ursidae. 

  • Something difficult or tiresome; a burden or chore. 

  • The fifteenth Lenormand card. 

  • A rough, unmannerly, uncouth person. 

  • A large, hairy man, especially one who is homosexual. 

adj
  • Characterized by declining prices in securities markets or by belief that the prices will fall. 

verb
  • To carry upon one's person, especially visibly; to be equipped with. 

  • To endeavour to depress the price of, or prices in. 

  • To wear. 

  • To carry (offspring in the womb), to be pregnant (with). 

  • To have or display (a mark or other feature). 

  • To display (a particular heraldic device) on a shield or coat of arms; to be entitled to wear or use (a heraldic device) as a coat of arms. 

  • To present or exhibit (a particular outward appearance); to have (a certain look). 

  • To have (a name, title, or designation). 

  • To possess or enjoy (recognition, renown, a reputation, etc.); to have (a particular price, value, or worth). 

  • To have (interest or a specified rate of interest) stipulated in its terms. 

  • To have (an appendage, organ, etc.) as part of the body; (of a part of the body) to have (an appendage). 

  • To carry or hold in the mind; to experience, entertain, harbour (an idea, feeling, or emotion). 

  • To feel and show (respect, reverence, loyalty, etc.) to, towards, or unto a person or thing. 

  • To possess inherently (a quality, attribute, power, or capacity); to have and display as an essential characteristic. 

  • To have (a relation, correspondence, etc.) to something else. 

  • To give (written or oral testimony or evidence); (figurative) to provide or constitute (evidence or proof), give witness. 

  • To have (a certain meaning, intent, or effect). 

  • To behave or conduct (oneself). 

  • To possess and use, to exercise (power or influence); to hold (an office, rank, or position). 

  • To carry or convey, literally or figuratively. 

  • To support or sustain; to hold up. 

  • To endure or withstand (hardship, scrutiny, etc.); to tolerate; to be patient (with). 

  • To admit or be capable of (a meaning); to suffer or sustain without violence, injury, or change. 

  • To carry on, or maintain; to have. 

  • To push, thrust, press. 

  • To take effect; to have influence or force; to be relevant. 

  • To give birth to (someone or something) (may take the father of the direct object as an indirect object). 

  • To sustain, or be answerable for (blame, expense, responsibility, etc.). 

  • To warrant, justify the need for. 

  • To produce or yield something, such as fruit or crops. 

  • To afford, to be something to someone, to supply with something. 

  • Of a weapon, to be aimed at an enemy or other target. 

  • To be, or head, in a specific direction or azimuth (from somewhere). 

bull

noun
  • An investor who buys (commodities or securities) in anticipation of a rise in prices. 

  • A policeman. 

  • The central portion of a target, inside the inner and magpie. 

  • Any adult male bovine. 

  • Beef. 

  • Specifically, one that is uncastrated. 

  • An adult male of certain large mammals, such as whales, elephants, camels and seals. 

  • A man who has sex with another man's wife or girlfriend with the consent of both. 

  • A male of domesticated cattle or oxen of any age. 

  • An adult male of domesticated cattle or oxen. 

  • A lie. 

  • Nonsense. 

  • An elderly lesbian. 

  • A papal bull, an official document or edict from the Pope. 

  • A seal affixed to a document, especially a document from the Pope. 

  • A large, strong man. 

  • Specifically, a policeman employed in a railroad yard. 

  • A man or boy (derived from the Philadelphia English pronunciation of “boy”, which is practically a homophone of “bull”) 

adj
  • Large and strong, like a bull. 

  • Adult male. 

  • Stupid. 

  • Of a market in which prices are rising (compare bear). 

verb
  • To lie, to tell untruths. 

  • To polish boots to a high shine. 

  • To be in heat; to be ready for mating with a bull. 

  • To mate with (a cow or heifer). 

  • To endeavour to raise prices in. 

  • To force oneself (in a particular direction). 

  • To mock; to cheat. 

  • To endeavour to raise the market price of. 

How often have the words bear and bull occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )