black bear

American  

noun

• black bears
  plural

1. a medium-sized North American bear, Ursus (Euarctos ) americanus, relatively common in uninhabited mountainous areas, ranging from light brown to black with a straight brown muzzle: northern populations may be gray to near-white.

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black bear British  

noun

1. a bear, Euarctos (or Ursus ) americanus , inhabiting forests of North America. It is smaller and less ferocious than the brown bear

2. a bear, Selenarctos thibetanus , of central and E Asia, whose coat is black with a pale V-shaped mark on the chest

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• black bears
  plural

Etymology

Origin of black bear

First recorded in 1735–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

black bear

He noted the peninsula had once been home to animals such as pronghorn, sea otter, North American porcupine, Humboldt marten, gray wolf, American black bear, grizzlies, northern fur seal and Steller sea lion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

There is one final bit of irony: Cornell’s longtime unofficial mascot is Touchdown the Big Red Bear, a tradition dating to 1915, when the football team once adopted a live black bear.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

The incident occurred in September 2025, when students living in Ganędagǫ Hall reported seeing two classmates processing a black bear in the residence hall’s communal kitchen.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

Japanese authorities have sedated and captured a black bear, days after it was spotted roaming around a city near Tokyo.

From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026

In their many pictures Eduardo is a baby, he’s a black bear for Halloween, he’s a bristling Golden Glover, he’s in a suit that’s too big.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee