contend vs bear down

contend and bear down both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
contend	No	No	Yes	No
bear down	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, bear down is a hyponym of contend; that is, bear down is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than contend:

contend (verb)	bear down (verb)
to make the subject of dispute, contention, or litigation	exert a force or cause a strain upon
have an argument about something	pay special attention to
maintain or assert	exert full strength
compete for something; engage in a contest; measure oneself against others	to make a rush at or sudden attack upon, as in battle
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight	exert a force with a heavy weight
succeed in doing, achieving, or producing (something) with the limited or inadequate means available	contract the abdominal muscles during childbirth to ease delivery