Great Bear

American  

noun

Astronomy.

1. the constellation Ursa Major.

---

Great Bear British  

noun

1. the English name for Ursa Major

---

Example Sentences

Rana likes to follow polar bear tracks and listen to her mother’s stories: “Stories about the old ice, the long long polar night, the Great Bear and how snow foxes make light with their tails.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

With her flame-red hair and warm manner, Ayuna lives up to her Tatar-origin first name, which means "Great Bear".

From Barron's • Dec. 17, 2025

Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear, is one of the most prominent northern constellations, and its main claim to fame is that it contains the Big Dipper, a highly recognizable asterism.

From National Geographic • Aug. 23, 2023

Consider the Great Bear Rainforest Agreement in Canada, where various groups came together to establish ecosystem-based management for a large tract of rainforest.

From Slate • May 30, 2023

The Dipper, the constellation called also the Great Bear, does not set below the horizon because a goddess once was angry at it and decreed that it should never sink into the sea.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton