white bear
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of white bear
First recorded in 1590–1600
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.
In these studies, people were instructed not to think about a white bear.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 20, 2023
I mean, no one ever tries to think of a white bear anyway, so it shouldn’t be a hard task.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 19, 2022
In “East of the Sun and West of the Moon,” a Norwegian story, a father signs his daughter over to a large white bear in exchange for a promise of riches.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 27, 2017
They are tiny, blind and toothless, and they more closely resemble a pale rodent than a black and white bear.
From New York Times ● Aug. 22, 2015
The great white bear hadn’t moved at all.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
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.
