Definition
The horizontal direction to or from any point, usually measured clockwise in degrees from north (true, magnetic, or some other reference) through 360 degrees.
Plain English
The compass direction from one point to another, given as a number of degrees from north going clockwise.
Context Anchor
Seen in navigation, position reports, traffic calls, and discussions of where an airport, station, landmark, or aircraft is located relative to another point.
Derivation
From Old English 'beran,' to carry or bring. The sense of 'direction' grew from the idea of which way something is being carried or pointed. Helps reinforce that a bearing always points from one place toward another.
Why Pilots Care
Accurate bearings let pilots navigate to airports, waypoints, or fixes using compass, radio aids, or visual references when GPS is unavailable.
Analogy
Like standing in a field and noting exactly which way on a compass a distant tower lies from your feet.
Intuition Check
Do not read bearing as a mechanical part, like a wheel bearing, or as a vague sense of location. In aviation navigation, a bearing is a measured compass direction to or from a point.
Example Sentence 1
The controller advised that traffic was at a bearing of 090 degrees from the airport, three miles out.
Example Sentence 2
We took a bearing on the VOR to confirm we were on the correct radial.