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smokey bear

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smokey bear¹

noun smokey bears

  1. alternative Alternative form of Smokey Bear (“highway patrolman”). To protect themselves from the lurking police cruisers ("smokey bears"), truckers ("18-wheelers") purchased CB units in large numbers.

Smokey Bear²

Where it comes from

From an ad campaign first introduced in 1944 by Foote, Cone and Belding in cooperation with the Forest Service and the Ad Council. The name was inspired by “Smokey” Joe Martin, a New York City Fire Department hero who suffered burns and blindness during a bold 1922 rescue. (Later, in 1950, an actual burned black bear cub was named Smokey and took on this symbolic role.)

proper noun Smokey · Smokey the Bear · smokey bear · smokey

  1. A fictional bear dressed as a ranger who acts as a symbol of forest fire prevention, with the slogan "Only you can prevent forest fires." 1994 marks the 50th anniversary of Smokey Bear, the world renowned symbol of forest fire prevention.

noun Smokey Bears · Smokey · Smokey the Bear · smokey bear · smokey

  1. A policeman, especially a highway patrol officer. There are laws on the books now, and the Smokey Bears Afloat are enforcing them.
  2. A ranger or park service employee that deals with the public. The Forest Service PR campaign now in high gear. Smokey Bears all over the place, giving talks to Rotary, Kiwanis, Chamber, Junior Chamber, Legion, hunters, fishermen, Grange, […]
  3. A firefighter. Having fought many fires in the States, I sure didn't envy future Smokey Bears in that terrain.
  4. A campaign hat. There were two of them— a man and a woman wearing neat Smokey Bears.
  5. slang An aircraft used to drop defoliants in the Vietnam War. No Smokey Bears: You can't shoot something you can't see. The Air Force in Viet Nam has special teams that blast away tree leaves and other shrubbery beside canals that offer hiding places for the Viet Cong. The motto of these defoliation teams: "Only you can prevent forests."

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MLA

"smokey bear." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/smokey%20bear. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

smokey bear. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/smokey%20bear

Chicago

"smokey bear." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/smokey%20bear.

BibTeX
@misc{smokey_bear_2026,
  title = {smokey bear},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/smokey%20bear},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}