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Definition of grizzly bear
grizzly bear
Plural:grizzly bears
• noun
1
North American A large, powerful subspecies of the brown bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) native to the inland regions of western North America, characterized by a prominent muscular shoulder hump, long claws, and a coat typically flecked with gray.
Example
"While hiking in the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park, we carried bear spray as a precaution against encountering a grizzly bear."
Synonyms
View all synonyms for grizzly bearWord Nuance & Usage
The spelling 'grizzly' refers to the bear's gray-flecked (grizzled) coat, though it is frequently confused with the homophone 'grisly', which means gruesome or horrific.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.
180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Grizzly bear. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 17, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/grizzly%20bear