a large North American brown bear, Ursus ( arctos ) horribilis, with coarse, gray-tipped brown fur, once widespread in the western part of the continent as far south as northern Mexico but now restricted to some regions of Alaska, western Canada, and the U.S. Rocky Mountains: a threatened species except in Alaska.
Also, grizzly . Also called silvertip . Cf. brown bear .
[ 1685-95 ]