black bear

American  

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of black bear

First recorded in 1735–45

Example Sentences

But a well-known black bear in the area, known as Rose, had other plans for the home, having already settled into her new den in the home’s crawl space.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026

A 550-pound male black bear wedged itself into the crawl space underneath an Altadena home just after Thanksgiving.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 13, 2026

That instinct led one hungry black bear to a South Lake Tahoe home across the Nevada border, surprising an 87-year-old man who had stepped into his garage for firewood before dawn Wednesday.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2025

She’s also draped in fur—standard attire for a black bear.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025

His tunic was a dark green, embroidered with the likeness of a black bear standing on two legs.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin