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

This total included 70 to 80 grizzly and Alaska brown bears. —Jack O’Connor, Outdoor Life, 4 Sep. 2024

After being hunted for decades to extinction across the American West, grizzly bears, also called brown bears, that live in the contiguous U.S. are now found only in portions of those states and Washington. —Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 3 Sep. 2024

In a viral TikTok with over 2 million views, a mama duck found herself in the wrong enclosure and was floating around a pond in one of the exhibits when Juniper, a 2-year-old brown bear, stalked the family of birds and then jumped into the pond. —Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 1 May 2024

The brown bears were treated to an opulent yet healthy meal to celebrate their participation in March Napness — FOUR PAWS's tournament-style bracket competition held to see which of the organization's rescue bears, who live across six sanctuaries, hibernated for the longest. —Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 15 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1757, in the meaning defined above

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