grizzly bear

American  

noun

1. a large North American brown bear, Ursus (arctos ) horribilis, with coarse, gray-tipped brown fur, once widespread in the western part of the continent as far south as northern Mexico but now restricted to some regions of Alaska, western Canada, and the U.S. Rocky Mountains: a threatened species except in Alaska.

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grizzly bear British  

noun

1. Often shortened to: grizzly.  a variety of the brown bear, Ursus arctos horribilis, formerly widespread in W North America; its brown fur has cream or white hair tips on the back, giving a grizzled appearance

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Etymology

Origin of grizzly bear

First recorded in 1685–95

Compare meaning

How does grizzly-bear compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• brown bear vs. grizzly bear

Example Sentences

Besides, Papa was as stout as a grizzly bear, and I just knew that if he ever got his hands on that big monkey we would sack him up.

From Literature

Pointed out to the tourists all the red foxes and orcas and grizzly bears that were pushing out native species because it was warm enough for the new animals to live here now.

From Literature

Unsurprisingly, War Secretary Warrior-Ethos-Man appeared on Fox News the next day to brag about this pitiful behavior, acting as if he’d won a wrestling match with a grizzly bear.

From Salon

Draganov treats him like a grizzly bear, hissing “Don’t move!” to an underling when Korpi makes eye contact with their car.

From Los Angeles Times

When the pair reached a small town that afternoon, his wife started screaming, and Ramsdell thought she spotted a grizzly bear.

From The Wall Street Journal