🐻 A North American bear 🐻 An Asian bear

black bear

3.0

A small wild animal in Asia with black fur and a pale chest patch

noun

Indian

: oso negro asiático

With a shiny coat and a gentle demeanor, the black bear is known for its playful behavior in the wild.
Asiatic black bear
Asian black bear

Examples

He alone had faced the black bear in the mountains and survived.

Fiction book (1995)
Farthest in the South, you can find the Asian black bear in addition to the common brown bear.

Fiction book (1996)
In the forests of China, the black bear is a common sight, often seen foraging for food.
The black bear can adapt well to different habitats, including mountains, forests, and even suburban areas.

Synonyms

Ursus thibetanus

vsblack bear

Specialized

9.6

A kind of bear with black fur and a white moon shape on its chest from central and eastern Asia

is the everyday descriptive name used instead of Latin

Selenarctos thibetanus

vsblack bear

Specialized

9.9

A large black bear from central and eastern Asia with a white chest patch

is the common descriptive name used in ordinary language

Asiatic black bear

vsblack bear

Indian

6.3

A medium-sized black bear with a white V-shaped chest patch from central and eastern Asia

is a more general description noting smaller size and plain dark coat

How Big

Kodiak bear

1 5.5

polar bear

37 1.1

brown bear

6 1.9

black bear

Indian

3.0

bearcat

4 9.9

Surface Forms

black bear singular

black bears plural

Morphology

black + bear

This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'black' (color) modifies 'bear' (animal), so the phrase denotes a bear that is black. A B1 learner who knows both words will readily derive this meaning, even if in some contexts it refers to a particular species or population.

Etymology

Black bear was named for its mostly dark coat, even though some Asian animals have a pale patch on the chest. So the name means 'a bear with a black coat' found in central and eastern Asia.