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 image made from video provided by Donna Gail Shaw shows a view from a trail camera of a brown bear and a black bear on Aug. 29, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska. —CBS News, 12 Oct. 2024

Aside from her thick beauty, a mother brown bear's vengeance may have won her the title for this year's Fat Bear Week contest. —Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 9 Oct. 2024

Fat Bear Week is a celebration of the brown bears of Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. —Amanda Kooser, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024

In addition to the 290,000 or so human residents of Anchorage, nearly 350 black bears, 65 brown bears and 1,600 moose also call it home. —CBS News, 12 Oct. 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