brown bear

noun

: any of several chiefly brown bears that are usually considered a single species (Ursus arctos), that formerly inhabited western North America from Alaska to northern Mexico and much of Europe and Asia but are now much restricted in range, and that include the grizzly bear and Kodiak bear

Illustration of brown bear

Examples of brown bear in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Martinez resident Sandy Eger spent one week photographing brown bears in Lake Clark, Alaska. —Jason Mastrodonato, Mercury News, 6 Apr. 2025

But recently the bear has been joined on its nightly visits with a larger, brown bear. —Damon Arthur, USA TODAY, 27 Dec. 2024

He is joined by an Indian Runner Duck with autism, Fred, who creates beats with his beak, and the brown bear with Down Syndrome, Bearnice, who loves nothing more than dancing for the big crowd at the circus. —Leo Barraclough, Variety, 29 Apr. 2025

While both black and brown bears can be found in abundance during a visit, the park made waves in 1995 with the reintroduction of gray wolves, an iconic species that was extirpated from the region in the early 20th century. —Jared Ranahan, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1757, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for brown bear

• abwehr
• affair
• affaire
• airfare
• altair
• armchair
• aware
• beware
• bugbear
• carfare
• childcare
• compare

Kids Definition

brown bear

noun

: any of several bears that are mostly brown in color, are usually lumped together in a single species including the grizzly bear, and at one time inhabited much of North America from Alaska to northern Mexico as well as Europe and Asia