grizzly

American  

[griz-lee] / ˈgrɪz li /

adjective

grizzlier, grizzliest

1. somewhat gray; grayish.

2. having hair that is gray; gray-haired.

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noun

grizzlies plural

1. grizzly bear.

2. a device for screening ore, consisting of a row of iron or steel bars.

grizzly British  

/ ˈɡrɪzlɪ /

adjective

1. somewhat grey; grizzled

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noun

1. See grizzly bear

Usage

Grizzly is sometimes wrongly used where grisly is meant: a grisly (not grizzly ) murder

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• grizzlies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of grizzly

First recorded in 1585–95; grizzle ¹ + -y ¹

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grizzly grizzlies grizzlier grizzliest

In an accompanying statement, the groups argued the rule changes could immediately harm wildlife including Florida manatees, grizzly bears, salmon and steelhead fish, bird species like rufa red knots and golden-cheeked warblers, and insect pollinators.

From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026

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 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

Grover moaned as he climbed down from the grizzly statue.

From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan

Today, federal wildlife officials estimate there are close to 2,000 grizzlies in the lower 48, concentrated primarily in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026

But despite being featured on the state flag, wild grizzlies haven’t been spotted in the state for about a century.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026

For 11 games in a row now, Scotland have been salmon leaping and Ireland have been the grizzlies waiting at falls-edge to gobble them up.

From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2025

Another specious reason for disrupting the grizzlies is their proclivity for distributing native plant seeds.

From Seattle Times ● May 17, 2024

“Better to be in here than out there in the open where the grizzlies can see ya plain as day.”

From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone

Promotional artwork for season five seems to show a grizzlier Rick than we’ve seen before and, thus, probably some payout on the cliff hanger ending.

From Time ● Oct. 10, 2014

The bears ground the eagles with a swipe of the paw, and it only gets grizzlier from there.

From Slate ● Mar. 23, 2012

They hold to a notion of the individual that the grizzliest fur trapper west of the Missouri River 170 years ago would have found extreme.

From Salon ● May 26, 2013

Mated with the game's irresistible sweetness, the outcome is a game-world which is truly universal in its appeal – the youngest children and grizzliest hardcore gamers alike will be held equally rapt by its charms.

From The Guardian ● May 27, 2010

And when my father was a young man, somewhere up north of Sacramento, in a creek called Cache Slough, the tules was full of grizzliest He used to go in an' shoot 'em.

From The Valley of the Moon by London, Jack