brown bear

noun

any of several medium-sized to large bears of the species Ursus arctos, inhabiting North America and Eurasia in dwindling populations, characterized by an upturned muzzle and a hump high on the back and ranging from light tan to near black; formerly considered three distinct species and often still referred to as such: U. horribilis, the grizzly bear; U. middendorffi, the Kodiac bear; and U. arctos, comprising European and Asian brown bears.

QUIZZES

TAKE THIS QUIZ TO SEE WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL PUNCTUATION!

Commas mark divisions in sentences. Periods end declarative sentences. Apostrophes show possession. Easy, right? Well, punctuation can get pretty tricky—fast. Think you got what it takes to be a punctuation expert? Take our quiz to prove it!

Question 1 of 10

Which of the options below is the best punctuation for the sentence? It__s your turn to pick the movie __ but your sister gets to pick the board game we _ re going to play.

Its your turn to pick the movie but your sister gets to pick the board game we’re going to play.

It’s your turn to pick the movie but your sister gets to pick the board game were going to play.

It’s your turn to pick the movie, but your sister gets to pick the board game we’re going to play.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of brown bear

First recorded in 1775–85

Words nearby brown bear

brown algae, brown bag, brown bagger, brown bagging, brown bat, brown bear, brown belt, brown bent, brown betty, brown bread, brown bullhead

British Dictionary definitions for brown bear

brown bear

noun

a large ferocious brownish bear, Ursus arctos, inhabiting temperate forests of North America, Europe, and AsiaSee also grizzly bear, Kodiak bear

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