polar bear

noun

"polar-bear" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“polar bear” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A white, semi-aquatic, hypercarnivorous species of bear, Ursus maritimus, whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle.

Corpus desk

Index EN-polar-bear · polar bear · English

polar bear · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for polar bear
PropertyValue
Headwordpolar bear
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “polar bear” in English

polar bearfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

polar bear is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A white, semi-aquatic, hypercarnivorous species of bear, Ursus maritimus, whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for polar bear in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Coined by Thomas Pennant in A Synopsis of Quadrupeds (1771). The correct English form is polar bear, spelled P-O-L-A-R- -B-E-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A white, semi-aquatic, hypercarnivorous species of bear, Ursus maritimus, whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle.

Etymology

Coined by Thomas Pennant in A Synopsis of Quadrupeds (1771).

Synonyms

arctic bearice bearnorthern bearsea bearwhite bearUrsus maritimus

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "polar bear"?
"polar bear" is spelled P-O-L-A-R- -B-E-A-R.
What does "polar bear" mean?
As a noun, "polar bear" means: A white, semi-aquatic, hypercarnivorous species of bear, Ursus maritimus, whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle.
What is the origin of the word "polar bear"?
Coined by Thomas Pennant in A Synopsis of Quadrupeds (1771). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list