grizzly
Americannoun
-
a device for screening ore, consisting of a row of iron or steel bars.
adjective
noun
Usage
Grizzly is sometimes wrongly used where grisly is meant: a grisly (not grizzly ) murder
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of grizzly
Explanation
A grizzly is a large North American species of bear also known as a silvertip bear. When you go camping and hiking in the western United States, park rangers might teach you what to do if you see a grizzly. The grizzly bear's formal Latin name, Ursus arctos horribilis, came from confusion between grizzly and grisly, or "horrible." Grizzly bears are known for being solitary and having brown fur tipped in white or gray. The adjective grizzly probably arose from these "grizzled" or gray-colored hairs, since it describes appearing aged or old, especially because of graying hair.
Vocabulary lists containing grizzly
Name On: Pro Sports Team Names, Part 1
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Commonly Confused Words, List 3
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Commonly Confused Words, List 5
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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.
Elliott, 29, recently bought a restored 1987 Defender in mint green for $76,000 that “drives like a grizzly, old truck.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026
The last known wild grizzly bear in California was shot and killed in the 1920s.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026
The huge question now is whether that changes when the Labour Party confronts the likely grizzly reality of the electorate's verdict early next month.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
It’s all pretty grizzly, and it’s increasingly mundane.
From Slate • Jan. 13, 2026
The Ainu people of Japan made the experiment by routinely rearing grizzly cubs as part of a ritual.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
