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

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What do nine Hawaiian snails have in common with the Texas longhorn, the Florida panther and the California grizzly bear? —

Maddie Bender, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Jan. 2025 Drilling in the refuge is particularly controversial because the area is home to wildlife including grizzly bears, polar bears, gray wolves, caribou and more than 200 species of birds. —

Rachel Frazin, The Hill, 21 Jan. 2025 The topic is more scientific and technical than most of his directorial targets, which tend to indulge his abiding interest in nature’s violent and irrational ways—grizzly bears and volcanoes, cave art and albino crocodiles. —

Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 8 Jan. 2025 Between 2009 and 2023, 49 grizzly bears were killed in vehicle collisions in the region. —

Greta Cross, USA TODAY, 1 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for grizzly bear