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teddy bear

American  

noun

teddy bears plural
  1. a toy bear, especially a stuffed one.


teddy bear British  

noun

  1. Often shortened to: teddy.  a stuffed toy bear made from soft or fluffy material

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of teddy bear

1905–10, after Theodore Roosevelt, called Teddy, who is said to have saved the life of a bear cub while hunting

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.

See Examples For:

Yet the series allows Lilypad to be a more sympathetic antagonist than the teddy bear it once tied to the grille of a garbage truck in “Toy Story 3.”

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 18, 2026

Villains in previous Toy Story movies have included a large purple teddy bear called Lotso, troubled next-door neighbour Sid, a ruthless toy collector named Al and creepy vintage doll Gabby Gabby.

From BBC Jun. 1, 2026

Meanwhile, Camilla will mark the 100th birthday of fictional teddy bear Winnie the Pooh at the New York Public Library, where she is expected to gift a specially made toy of the character Roo.

From Barron's Apr. 29, 2026

The men first met only after Milne bought a teddy bear at Harrods for his infant son’s first birthday in 1921 and, during a rainy holiday, wrote a few poems for children.

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 9, 2026

I didn’t care if I never had another birthday, as long as I could keep my one-eyed teddy bear.

From "Fourth Grade Rats" by Jerry Spinelli

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