bear fruit

1. Literally, to produce fruit, as of certain trees and plants. Now that the tree in our back yard is bearing fruit, the kids love picking apples from it. A: "So this bush bears fruit, eh?" B: "Yep, after all these years, I just found out that it bears quince! Who knew?" I know that tree bears fruit, kids, but don't eat it—it could be poisonous for all we know!

2. By extension, to yield desired results. Donna is convinced that this plan will bear fruit if we just keep working on it, but it's been a year—the rest of us are officially skeptical. Why would you give Rich money? How many of his ridiculous schemes over the years have actually borne fruit, huh? I'm not signing that contract because it only bears fruit if our company spends a ton of money up front!

See also: bear, fruit

bear fruit

1. Lit. [for a plant or tree] to yield fruit. Our apple tree didn't bear fruit this year.

2. Fig. to yield results. I hope your new plan bears fruit. We've had many good ideas, but none of them has borne fruit.

See also: bear, fruit

bear fruit

Yield results, have a favorable outcome, as in This new idea of his is bound to bear fruit. This metaphoric term, first recorded in 1879, transfers the production of fruit by a tree or plant to other kinds of useful yield.

See also: bear, fruit

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bear fruit

FORMAL

COMMON If an action bears fruit, it produces good results. The strategy of concentrating the company's efforts on a smaller range of businesses is now beginning to bear fruit. It remains to be seen whether the economic reforms will bear fruit.

See also: bear, fruit

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

bear fruit

have good results.

This expression is a biblical metaphor, found, for example, in Matthew 13:23: ‘But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty’.

See also: bear, fruit

bear ˈfruit

have the desired result; be successful: The tireless efforts of campaigners have finally borne fruit and the prisoners are due to be released tomorrow.

See also: bear, fruit

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