bearberry

[ bair-ber-ee, -buh-ree ]

/ ˈbɛərˌbɛr i, -bə ri /

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noun, plural bear·ber·ries.

any of several prostrate shrubs belonging to the genus Arctostaphylos, of the heath family, especially A. uva-ursi, having tonic, astringent leaves and bright-red berries.

cascara.

possum haw.

any of several other plants, as some species of cranberry.

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Origin of bearberry

First recorded in 1615–25; bear² + berry

Words nearby bearberry

bear, bearable, bear a grudge, bear animalcule, bearbaiting, bearberry, bearcat, bear claw, beard, bearded, bearded collie

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bearberry in a sentence

Arctostaphylos (bearberry) and Andromeda are arctic and alpine genera occurring in Britain.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 7|Various
Uva Ursi (Bearberry Leaves), leaves of red whortleberry, and others.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
Etienne was some distance away gathering bearberry leaves to dry and mix with his smoking tobacco to make kinni-kinnik.
The Island of Yellow Sands|E. C. [Ethel Claire] Brill
There they dined on blueberries, and slept on thick beds of moss and low growing blueberry and bearberry plants.
The Island of Yellow Sands|E. C. [Ethel Claire] Brill

He was out of tobacco, but used bearberry leaves and willow bark in his pipe.
The Island of Yellow Sands|E. C. [Ethel Claire] Brill

British Dictionary definitions for bearberry

bearberry

/ (ˈbɛəbərɪ) /

noun plural -ries

a trailing evergreen ericaceous shrub, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, with small pinkish-white flowers, red berries, and astringent leaves

alpine bearberry or black bearberry a related species, A. alpina of European mountains, having black berries

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012