Meanings
plural cave bears
- A large extinct species of bear, †Ursus spelaeus.
It begs the question: why did the Neanderthals “fail,” since the cave-dwelling hominin, like the cave bear, faltered during the last glaciation, not afterward?
2012, Lydia Pyne, Stephen J. Pyne, chapter 7, in The Last Lost World, Penguin, →ISBN1 more example
The more striking phenomena first and most strongly impress the mind, which contrasts for example, the great Cave-Bears of Europe with the actual Brown Bear, the Megatheriods of South America with the small existing sloths, and the gigantic Glyptodons with the Armadillos.
1851 June 11, The Geelong Advertiser, Victoria, page 1, column 2
Translations
Danish hulebjørn
- hulebjørnUrsus spelaeus
Dutch holenbeer, grottenbeer
- holenbeerUrsus spelaeus
- grottenbeerUrsus spelaeus
Finnish luolakarhu
- luolakarhuUrsus spelaeus
French ours des cavernes
- ours des cavernesUrsus spelaeus
German Höhlenbär
- HöhlenbärUrsus spelaeus
Italian orso delle caverne
- orso delle caverneUrsus spelaeus
Norwegian Bokmål hulebjørn
- hulebjørnUrsus spelaeus
Russian пеще́рный медве́дь
- пеще́рный медве́дь (peščérnyj medvédʹ)Ursus spelaeus
Spanish oso cavernario
- oso cavernarioUrsus spelaeus
Swedish grottbjörn
- grottbjörnUrsus spelaeus
Cite this entry
cave bear. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cave%20bear
“cave bear.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cave%20bear. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cave bear,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cave%20bear.
Source: cave bear on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.