black bear

noun
1.
a medium-sized North American bear, Ursus (Euarctos) americanus, relatively common in uninhabited mountainous areas, ranging from light brown to black with a straight brown muzzle: northern populations may be gray to near-white.
Origin
1735-45
British Dictionary definitions for black bear

black bear

noun
1.
American black bear, a bear, Euarctos (or Ursus) americanus, inhabiting forests of North America. It is smaller and less ferocious than the brown bear
2.
Asiatic black bear, a bear, Selenarctos thibetanus, of central and E Asia, whose coat is black with a pale V-shaped mark on the chest