Dictionary

teddy bear en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Morris Michtom, the owner of a candy store in Brooklyn N.Y., who made the first “Teddy Bear” in the year 1902 in honor of then American President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt when he had heard that he had refused to shoot a bear cub on one of his hunting trips.

Meanings

1. A plush toy in the shape of a bear.
   • 1988, Michael Weikath, "Rise and Fall", Helloween, Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II. The king of Los Angeles / Bought himself a teddy bear / And the queen became shameless / She did it with a chair
   • The origin of Paddington (the bear, not the station) dates to 1956 when author Michael Bond (1926-2017) spotted a lonesome teddy bear on the shelf of a store near the station. It was Christmas Eve, so he bought the solitary bear for his wife. 2021 September 22, Stephen Roberts, “The writings on the wall...”, in RAIL, number 940, page 74:
2. A lovable, endearing, large, strong, hairy, or sweet man, particularly one who is gentle in spite of a burly or gruff appearance.
   • Some insisted that, because men have generally hairier bodies than women, a super-hairy chest is super-male and therefore very appealing. They added that it not only looks sexy but also feels sexy, like a teddy bear. 2009, Desmond Morris, The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body, page 161:
   • “So I'm sort of a big teddy bear, am I?” “A sexy teddy bear.” he kissed her neck. 2010, Abigail Reynolds, Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice: A Modern Love Story with a Jane..., page 276:
   • ...the sexy "teddy bear" frontman of the '80s rap group Heavy D and the Boyz. 1999, “Big Men are Sexy Too - Apr 1999”, in Ebony, volume 54, number 6, page 73:
   • This is not to say that women don't admire the Brad Pitts and George Clooneys of the world, but they're just as likely to be attracted to a big, teddy bear kind of man as the guy gracing the cover of GQ. 2008, Jean A. Campbell, Taking Sexy Back: The Cure for the Sexual Blahs, page 124:
   • I'd like to mt you if you're a bearded ‘Teddy Bear,’ husky build, under 34 & share a career orientation. 1980 August 9, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, page 14:

Forms

Deriveds

teddy bear jacket · teddy bear coat · Australian teddy bear · teddy bears' picnic

Translations (89)

uk плю́шевий ведме́дик (a stuffed toy bear) · sh меда (a stuffed toy bear) · sv nallebjörn (lovable man) · hy արջուկ (a stuffed toy bear) · ru ми́шка (a stuffed toy bear) · ar دُمْيَةُ دُبّ (a stuffed toy bear) · fr ours en peluche (a stuffed toy bear) · fr nounours (a stuffed toy bear) · fr nounours (more often "gros nounours") (lovable man) · es osito de peluche (a stuffed toy bear) · gl osiño de peluche (a stuffed toy bear) · he דֻּבִּי (a stuffed toy bear) · fa بامزی (a stuffed toy bear) · fi nallekarhu (lovable man) · ko 곰 인형 (a stuffed toy bear) · es osito (lovable man) · mk мече (a stuffed toy bear) · yue 啤啤熊 (a stuffed toy bear) · yi פּליושן בערעלע (a stuffed toy bear) · bg плю́шено мече́ (a stuffed toy bear) · tr peluş ayıcık (a stuffed toy bear) · pt ursinho de pelúcia (a stuffed toy bear) · ia Urseto Teddy (a stuffed toy bear) · lb Teddy (a stuffed toy bear) · ar دَبْدُوب (a stuffed toy bear) · de Teddybärli (a stuffed toy bear) · eo pluŝa urso (a stuffed toy bear) · tr peluş ayı (a stuffed toy bear) · es papi chulo (lovable man) · pl pluszowy miś (a stuffed toy bear) · th หมีเท็ดดี้ (a stuffed toy bear) · de Plüschbär (a stuffed toy bear) · pl miś (lovable man) · ga béirín (a stuffed toy bear) · sv nallebjörn (a stuffed toy bear) · mk плишано мече (a stuffed toy bear) · nl knuffelbeer (a stuffed toy bear) · yi בער (a stuffed toy bear) · da teddybjørn (a stuffed toy bear) · sh меца (a stuffed toy bear) · cmn 玩具熊 (a stuffed toy bear) · ja 縫い包み (a stuffed toy bear) · sh medo (a stuffed toy bear) · de Teddy (a stuffed toy bear) · nn bamse (a stuffed toy bear) · kl bamse (a stuffed toy bear) · nb kosebamse (lovable man) · yue 熊啤啤 (a stuffed toy bear) · nb teddybjørn (a stuffed toy bear) · de Teddybär (a stuffed toy bear) · is bangsi (a stuffed toy bear) · lv lācītis (a stuffed toy bear) · mi tetipea (a stuffed toy bear) · ca osset de feltre (a stuffed toy bear) · de Bärchen (a stuffed toy bear) · fi nallekarhu (a stuffed toy bear) · sm teti pea (a stuffed toy bear) · it orsacchiotto (a stuffed toy bear) · cmn 泰迪熊 (a stuffed toy bear) · sv nalle (a stuffed toy bear) · fa خرسک (a stuffed toy bear) · fi nalle (a stuffed toy bear) · nn teddybjørn (a stuffed toy bear) · tr ayıcık (a stuffed toy bear) · ja テディベア (a stuffed toy bear) · sh meda (a stuffed toy bear) · nb bamse (a stuffed toy bear) · ca osset de peluix (a stuffed toy bear) · hu mackó (a stuffed toy bear) · be плю́шавы мі́шка (a stuffed toy bear) · de Kuschelbär (a stuffed toy bear) · ms beruang peluk (a stuffed toy bear) · ia Teddy Bear (a stuffed toy bear) · sv teddybjörn (a stuffed toy bear) · chr ᏖᏗ ᏲᎾ (a stuffed toy bear) · da bamse (a stuffed toy bear) · vi gấu bông (a stuffed toy bear) · ru плю́шевый ми́шка (a stuffed toy bear) · sh meca (a stuffed toy bear) · sh медо (a stuffed toy bear) · he דֻּבּוֹן (a stuffed toy bear) · kw orsik (a stuffed toy bear) · cs medvídek (a stuffed toy bear) · ko 테디 베어 (a stuffed toy bear) · de Bärli (a stuffed toy bear) · ga béirín bréige (a stuffed toy bear) · hu maci (a stuffed toy bear) · th ตุ๊กตาหมี (a stuffed toy bear) · nl teddybeer (a stuffed toy bear)