bear hug
noun
a strong, tight embrace.
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boar hunt.
bear hug
1 Americannoun
-
a strong, tight embrace.
My father gave me a big bear hug as soon as I stepped out of the taxi.
-
Wrestling. a hold in which one contestant locks both arms around the other in order to make the opponent fall to the mat.
bear-hug
2
American
[bair-huhg]
/ ˈbɛərˌhʌg /
verb (used with object)
bear-hugged,
bear-hugging
bear hug
British
noun
-
a wrestling hold in which the arms are locked tightly round an opponent's chest and arms
-
any similar tight embrace
-
commerce an approach to the board of one company by another to indicate that an offer is to be made for their shares
Etymology
Origin of bear hug1
First recorded in 1920–25
Origin of bear-hug2
First recorded in 1955–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I've posted it on social media and it shows me going over to give him a bear hug, but it is him who ends up lifting me off the ground.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
Yvonne Carvalho, a 5-foot dynamo with oversize black glasses and purple MAC lipstick, greeted the nurse anesthesiologist with a bear hug and questions about her dating life and her daughter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025
And it imbues the foodstuffs, home goods, clothes, paraphernalia and tchotchkes that hail from here with a sort of unquantifiable, ineffable, sun-kissed, surf-adjacent vibe that wraps around you like a cartoon bear hug.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2024
Jelly Roll didn’t realize his bear hug had lifted Garth Brooks up until a clip of their ACM Awards meeting went viral.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2024
Dad scooped me up in a bear hug.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
“We literally had to bear-hug the hull” to get the parts in place, said Mersai’s classmate, Henry Peters.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 20, 2022
On a third and eight, Young used a quick swim move to duck tackle Isaiah Wynn and bear-hug Newton, who released the ball just before the hit.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 12, 2021
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who wrapped assistant coach Jeff Capel in a big bear-hug at center court, was still wearing his 2010 title ring won in the same building.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 7, 2015
The Victorian received a bear-hug from batting partner Shane Watson, who hit 67 runs in 41 balls on his return to the side after being dropped for the previous match against Afghanistan.
From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2015
Marguerite gave Rose a bear-hug and soon Stubby saw them coming across the lawn.
From Dew Drops, Vol. 37, No. 34, August 23, 1914 by Various
Ohtani’s excitement for the game and his teammates—especially Yamamoto, whom he giddily bear-hugged in the celebration last night—does as much to lift the sport as his remarkable two-way talent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025
A rescuer descended from the helicopter — communicating directions with the pilot as he moved along the cliffside — and bear-hugged the woman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025
No idiosyncrasy is too singular for him to wrestle into submission – and over three seasons of the Syfy series, he’s bear-hugged a lot of them.
From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2024
He was voted NBA MVP — that has Harden who bear-hugged Embiid when his name was called — and won his second straight league scoring title.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 29, 2023
She reached out her arms and bear-hugged me and I hugged her back, and she whispered, “Okay, go.”
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
She runs from him, and he gives chase, bear-hugging her from behind, sobbing, apologizing, his nose running, until they kiss.
From Slate ● Mar. 5, 2019
Matthew Futterman: The marking was much better on that set piece for Panama, except that someone forgot to tell them that bear-hugging is not allowed in the World Cup either.
From New York Times ● Jun. 24, 2018
The theft drew global attention after police released surveillance video last month showing a man reaching into an armored truck, then tottering away while bear-hugging the pot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 21, 2016
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was bear-hugging and chest-bumping his triumphant players as Chelsea counterpart Antonio Conte was back in the dressing room contemplating a defeat about which he could have no complaints.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2016
I have seen pictures of the graduation day hung about his house, Kwang and his wife, May, smiling in the bright afternoon light, bear-hugging each other.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
