Word.ws English Dictionary

loaded for bear

loaded for bear adjective: thoroughly equipped, as for a demanding task or confrontation.

Adjective

loaded for bear (not comparable)

  1. (idiomatic) Thoroughly equipped, as for a demanding task or confrontation.
    • "The whole Jap Navy," said Captain Sams, waving at a map of Japan on the wall behind him, "has been steaming across the Pacific loaded for bear."1955, Edward Latimer Beach, chapter 6, in Run Silent, Run Deep
  2. (idiomatic) Mentally prepared for a daunting situation or confrontation.
    • Every Elliott and Crawford and MacAllister is on the warpath, loaded for bear.1917, Lucy Maud Montgomery, chapter 35, in Anne's House of Dreams

Origin of loaded for bear

An allusion to equipping oneself with the sort of heavy weaponry suitable for hunting large animals.

Questions about loaded for bear

What does loaded for bear mean?
Loaded for bear means thoroughly equipped, as for a demanding task or confrontation.
What part of speech is loaded for bear?
Loaded for bear is an adjective.

Words near loaded for bear in the dictionary

  1. loadcell
  2. loadcells
  3. loaded
  4. loaded dice
  5. loaded down
  6. loaded for bear
  7. loaded language
  8. loaded march
  9. loaded marches
  10. loaded out
  11. loaded question

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: loaded for bear (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-loaded for bear.ogg.

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