grizzly bear

noun

: a very large brown bear (Ursus arctos) of northwestern North America

Note: The grizzly bear is the same species as the brown bear, but grizzly bear is typically used for the North American brown bear and not the European or Asian brown bear. In the U.S., grizzly bear is most often used for a brown bear of inland habitats (as in Montana and western Canada) that is typically smaller than coastal brown bears and usually has lighter-colored tips on the fur. The grizzly bear is often considered a subspecies (Ursus arctos horribilis) of the brown bear and, especially formerly, a separate species (Ursus horribilis).

The brown bears of Kodiak Island, the grizzly bears of the Rocky Mountains and interior Alaska, the European brown bear, all are now considered to be the same species, Ursus arctos, despite tremendous variation in color, size, and habits.Natural History

called also grizzly

Examples of grizzly bear in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Worst off were grizzly bears, who overwhelmingly perished near roads—not because they were struck by cars, though that happened, but because roads pumped the woods full of trigger-happy humans. Ben Goldfarb, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2024 The cause for the decline includes the impact of predation from the park’s gray wolf population, which was reintroduced in 1995, as well as other factors such as predation from grizzly bears and mountain lions, climate change, hunting of elk outside of the park, and more. Sage Marshall, Field & Stream, 31 Jan. 2024 There were other, more immediate concerns at camp, like daily lessons on Inuktitut language and three straight nights of grizzly bear visits that the head, cape, and meat all somehow survived. Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 11 Jan. 2024 There are several endangered species that still live on the land, including the black-footed ferret, as well as wolves and grizzly bears. Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 2 Jan. 2024 All the iconic Rocky Mountains animals are present in the park — moose, elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, wolves, cougars, and grizzly bears. Joe Yogerst, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024 Beyond the scary realm of insects and parasites, large predators like wolves, grizzly bears, lions, and tigers all give way to dogs and other humans as some of the deadliest mammals in the world, too. Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 20 Dec. 2023 Through genetic analysis and other identifying characteristics, the adult grizzly bear was found to be the same bear involved in a fatal attack of a woman in July near West Yellowstone, the agency said in a news release. Jennifer Henderson, CNN, 7 Sep. 2023 The deputy and man both speculated that the animals were brown bears or grizzly bears. Kerry Breen, CBS News, 1 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grizzly bear.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1791, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of grizzly bear was in 1791

Dictionary Entries Near grizzly bear

Cite this Entry

“Grizzly bear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grizzly%20bear. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

grizzly bear

noun
: a large powerful brown bear found from the northwestern U.S. to Alaska

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