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

In a study published by the country’s forestry research institute earlier this year, the agency said that Romania may have as many as 13,000 brown bears, almost double previous estimates, according to the outlet. —Sam Gillette, People.com, 4 July 2025

There were also yaks, deer, buffalo, camels, a kangaroo, ostriches, eight monkeys, six raccoons, two grizzly bears, black bears, brown bears, seals, lions, an old tiger, a blind hyena, a circus elephant, an alligator and 400 birds, including a talking crow. —Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025

Additionally, over 9,000 black and brown bears were trapped and killed in the country during that time. —Raven Brunner, People.com, 26 June 2025

The European brown bears were rescued as cubs from a snow drift in Albania in 2019, Habben said. —Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 25 June 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