bear

¹bear

noun, often attributive \ˈber\

plural bears

Definition of BEAR

1

or plural bear : any of a family (Ursidae of the order Carnivora) of large heavy mammals of America and Eurasia that have long shaggy hair, rudimentary tails, and plantigrade feet and feed largely on fruit, plant matter, and insects as well as on flesh

2

: a surly, uncouth, burly, or shambling person <a tall, friendly bear of a man>

3

[probably from the proverb about selling the bearskin before catching the bear] : one that sells securities or commodities in expectation of a price decline — compare bull

4

: something difficult to do or deal with <the oven is a bear to clean>

— bear·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

Examples of BEAR

1. a mother bear and her cubs
2. The bears outnumbered the bulls on Wall Street today.
3. Traffic in Knoxville, Tennessee, can be a bear anytime, but in late spring the slowdowns on Neyland Drive are often caused by Canada geese. —Joelle Anthony, Audubon, November-December 2004
4. True, the rally has been around the corner since Memorial Day. But bears have dominated market sentiment for so long since the Federal Reserve Board raised interest rates last February, that traders feel the market is headed for a major tectonic shift … —Anthony Ramirez, New York Times, 19 July 1994
5. Hikers in the woods are far more likely to wear a bell to deter bears than to take precautions against bees. But bears kill two to seven people in North America annually, bee stings kill 600 to 900. —Allan J. Davison, Chemical & Engineering News, 15 Mar. 1993

Origin of BEAR

Middle English bere, from Old English bera; akin to Old English brūn brown — more at brown

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to BEAR

Synonyms: chore, beast, headache, job, killer, labor

Related Words: drudgery, grind, heavy lifting, lucubration; effort, strain, sweat; burden, load, weight; bother, nuisance, trouble

Near Antonyms: breeze, child's play, cinch, duck soup, kid stuff, setup, snap

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Other Mammals Terms

dormouse, dugong, gibbon, grimalkin, sable, stoat, ungulate, vole

Rhymes with BEAR

air, Ayr, bare, Blair, blare, care, chair, chare, dare, Dare, e'er, ere, err, eyre, fair, fare, flair, flare, glair, glare, hair, hare, Herr, heir, lair, mare, ne'er, pair, pare, pear, prayer, rare, rear, scare, share, snare, spare, square, stair, stare, swear, tare, tear, their, there, vair, ware, wear, weir, where, yare