grizzly bear

noun

: a very large brown bear (Ursus arctos) of northwestern North America

Note: The grizzly bear is the same species as the brown bear, but grizzly bear is typically used for the North American brown bear and not the European or Asian brown bear. In the U.S., grizzly bear is most often used for a brown bear of inland habitats (as in Montana and western Canada) that is typically smaller than coastal brown bears and usually has lighter-colored tips on the fur. The grizzly bear is often considered a subspecies (Ursus arctos horribilis) of the brown bear and, especially formerly, a separate species (Ursus horribilis).

The brown bears of Kodiak Island, the grizzly bears of the Rocky Mountains and interior Alaska, the European brown bear, all are now considered to be the same species, Ursus arctos, despite tremendous variation in color, size, and habits.

—Natural History

called also grizzly

Examples of grizzly bear in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Last year, a woman named Amie Adamson was killed by a grizzly bear while hiking in West Yellowstone. —Corbin Reiff, Outside Online, 12 July 2024

This agency-specific rule is being touted as the reversal of a Trump administration rule allowing baiting of brown/grizzly bears, harvesting black bears in their dens, and a few other practices — most of which are rooted in traditional subsistence hunting. —Tyler Freel, Outdoor Life, 10 July 2024

The buffalo disappeared over a hill and the group continued to a place where grizzly bears had been spotted, Mr. Creech said. —Amy Beth Hanson and Mead Gruver, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 June 2024

Sign up The population of grizzly bears has significantly declined since the 1800s, from approximately 50,000 to just under 2,000 today in the continental U.S. —Devika Rao, theweek, 27 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1791, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

grizzly bear

noun

: a large powerful brown bear found from the lower 48 to Alaska