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

Nat Hab’s Alaska Bear Camp Located in a remote and beautiful corner of Lake Clark National Park, this wildly unique camp provides exclusive access to observe coastal brown bears in their natural habitat. —Sunset Magazine, 10 Sep. 2024

Police in Japan's Hokkaido Island advised the public to exercise caution after a brown bear attacked a light truck on a forest road. —Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY, 9 May 2024

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

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