polar bear

American  

noun

1. a large white bear, Ursus maritimus, of the Arctic regions.

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polar bear British  

noun

1. a white carnivorous bear, Thalarctos maritimus, of coastal regions of the North Pole

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Etymology

Origin of polar bear

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

Her social media feed piled up with video after video of polar bear rescues, such as fishermen or scientists hauling a freezing, struggling baby polar bear onto a ship.

From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2026

Rana likes to follow polar bear tracks and listen to her mother’s stories: “Stories about the old ice, the long long polar night, the Great Bear and how snow foxes make light with their tails.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

A polar bear suffers through an existential crisis of faith after realizing that he prefers Pepsi Max to Coke Zero.

From Slate • Feb. 8, 2026

She's building a traditional Greenlandic sleigh by hand from wood, with a polar bear drawn on the front.

From BBC • Nov. 21, 2025

Probably the DNR, out on polar bear patrol.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz