bear market

[ bair mahr-kit ]

noun

, Stock Exchange.

1. a financial market characterized by investment prices that are falling or that are forecast to fall. Compare bull market ( def ).

bear market

1. A market, especially a stock market , characterized by falling prices; the opposite of a bull market .

Word History and Origins

Origin of bear market¹

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Buffett similarly made a lot of money in the prolonged bear market if the 1970s.

From The Daily Beast

The bear market in the Great Depression lasted 30-something months.

From The Daily Beast

Profits will probably fall by half and I would be surprised if the bear market lasted more than two or three years.

From The Daily Beast

It refers to a person who believes that the market value of stocks will decline, and a bear market is a declining market.

From Project Gutenberg

The house had a large bull clientèle, which was holding its stocks, and not selling on a bear market.

From Project Gutenberg

He was a bull in a bear market; and the more he lost the more he thought the inevitable "rally" in prices was due.

From Project Gutenberg