Meanings
nounpolar bear (plural polar bears)
plural polar bears
- A white, semi-aquatic, hypercarnivorous species of bear, Ursus maritimus, whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle.
Synonyms: arctic bear, ice bear, northern bear, sea bear, white bear, Ursus maritimus
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA white, semi-aquatic, hypercarnivorous species of bear, Ursus maritimus, whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle.
Similar
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Coined by Thomas Pennant in A Synopsis of Quadrupeds (1771).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic دُبّ أَبْيَض, دُبَّة بَيْضَاء
- دُبّ أَبْيَض (dubb ʔabyaḍ)Ursus maritimus
- دُبَّة بَيْضَاءUrsus maritimus
- دُبّ قُطْبِيّ (dubb quṭbiyy)Ursus maritimus
- دُبَّة قُطْبِيَّةUrsus maritimus
Basque hartz zuri
- hartz zuriUrsus maritimus
Bulgarian бя́ла ме́чка, поля́рна ме́чка
- бя́ла ме́чка (bjála méčka)Ursus maritimus
- поля́рна ме́чка (poljárna méčka)Ursus maritimus
Catalan os polar, os blanc
- os polarUrsus maritimus
- os blancUrsus maritimus
Chinese Mandarin 北極熊 /北极熊, 白熊
- 北極熊 /北极熊 (Běijíxióng)Ursus maritimus
- 白熊 (báixióng)Ursus maritimus
Czech lední medvěd, medvěd lední
- lední medvědUrsus maritimus
- medvěd ledníUrsus maritimus
- polární medvědUrsus maritimus
Danish isbjørn
- isbjørnUrsus maritimus
Dutch ijsbeer
- ijsbeerUrsus maritimus
Esperanto blanka urso
- blanka ursoUrsus maritimus
Estonian jääkaru
- jääkaruUrsus maritimus
Finnish jääkarhu
- jääkarhuUrsus maritimus
French ours blanc, ours polaire
- ours blancUrsus maritimus
- ours polaireUrsus maritimus
German Eisbär, Polarbär
- EisbärUrsus maritimus
- PolarbärUrsus maritimus
Greek πολική αρκούδα
- πολική αρκούδα (polikí arkoúda)Ursus maritimus
Hawaiian nanuka
- nanukaUrsus maritimus
Hebrew דוב הקוטב
- דוב הקוטב (dov ha-kotev)Ursus maritimus
Hindi ध्रुवीय भालू
- ध्रुवीय भालू (dhruvīya bhālū)Ursus maritimus
Hungarian jegesmedve
- jegesmedveUrsus maritimus
Icelandic ísbjörn, hvítabjörn
- ísbjörnUrsus maritimus
- hvítabjörnUrsus maritimus
Indonesian beruang kutub
- beruang kutubUrsus maritimus
Irish béar bán
- béar bánUrsus maritimus
Italian orso polare, orso bianco
- orso polareUrsus maritimus
- orso biancoUrsus maritimus
Japanese ホッキョクグマ, シロクマ
- ホッキョクグマ (Hokkyoku-guma)Ursus maritimus
- シロクマ (shirokuma)Ursus maritimus
Korean 흰곰, 북극곰
- 흰곰 (huin'gom)Ursus maritimus
- 북극곰 (Bukgeukgom)Ursus maritimus
Latvian leduslācis, polārlācis
- leduslācisUrsus maritimus
- polārlācisUrsus maritimus
- baltais lācisUrsus maritimus
Lithuanian baltasis lokys
- baltasis lokysUrsus maritimus
Malay beruang kutub
- beruang kutubUrsus maritimus
Māori pea huka
- pea hukaUrsus maritimus
Norwegian isbjørn
- isbjørnUrsus maritimus
Persian خرس قطبی
- خرس قطبی (xers-e qotbi)Ursus maritimus
Polish niedźwiedź polarny, niedźwiedź biały
- niedźwiedź polarnyUrsus maritimus
- niedźwiedź białyUrsus maritimus
Portuguese urso-polar, urso-branco
- urso-polarUrsus maritimus
- urso-brancoUrsus maritimus
Romanian urs polar, urs alb
- urs polarUrsus maritimus
- urs albUrsus maritimus
Russian бе́лый медве́дь, поля́рный медве́дь
- бе́лый медве́дь (bélyj medvédʹ)Ursus maritimus
- поля́рный медве́дь (poljárnyj medvédʹ)Ursus maritimus
Slovak ľadový medveď
- ľadový medveďUrsus maritimus
Spanish oso polar, oso blanco
- oso polarUrsus maritimus
- oso blancoUrsus maritimus
Swahili dubu barafu
- dubu barafuUrsus maritimus
Swedish isbjörn
- isbjörnUrsus maritimus
Tamil துருவக் கரடி
- துருவக் கரடி (turuvak karaṭi)Ursus maritimus
Thai หมีขั้วโลก, หมีขาว
- หมีขั้วโลก (mǐi-kûua-lôok)Ursus maritimus
- หมีขาว (mǐi-kǎao)Ursus maritimus
Turkish kutup ayısı
- kutup ayısıUrsus maritimus
Ukrainian бі́лий ведмі́дь
- бі́лий ведмі́дь (bílyj vedmídʹ)Ursus maritimus
Urdu قطبی بھالو
- قطبی بھالو (qutbī bhālū)Ursus maritimus
Vietnamese gấu trắng Bắc Cực, gấu Bắc Cực
- gấu trắng Bắc CựcUrsus maritimus
- gấu Bắc CựcUrsus maritimus
- gấu trắngUrsus maritimus
Welsh arth wen, arth y gogledd
- arth wenUrsus maritimus
- arth y gogleddUrsus maritimus
Yiddish ווײַסער בער
- ווײַסער בער (vayser ber)Ursus maritimus
Cite this entry
APA
polar bear. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polar%20bear
MLA
“polar bear.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polar%20bear. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “polar bear,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polar%20bear.
Source: polar bear on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.