grizzly
Americannoun
plural
grizzlies-
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
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.
For years, wildlife experts advised people attacked by black bears to fight back, while recommending that anyone confronted by a much larger grizzly lie still and play dead.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026
It’s all pretty grizzly, and it’s increasingly mundane.
From Slate • Jan. 13, 2026
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 • Dec. 3, 2025
US scientist Dr Fred Ramsdell was on the last day of a three-week hike with his wife Laura O'Neill and their two dogs, deep in Montana's grizzly bear country, when Ms O'Neill suddenly started screaming.
From BBC • Oct. 7, 2025
Even Lewis and Clark with their big guns were astounded and unsettled by the ability of the grizzly to absorb volleys of lead with barely a wobble.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
