Citations:mama-bear

Adjective: "characteristic of protective maternal behavior"

 * 1999 — Kurt Andersen, Turn of the Century, Random House (1999), ISBN 9780375500084, page 279:
 * "That upper-middle mama-bear thing is very ... sweet, Lizzie," George said once, making her feel like a frump. "I guess in your family Great Depression anxiety skipped a generation."
 * 2002 — Heidi Betts, Callie's Convict, Leisure Books (2002), ISBN 0843950307:
 * Now, he suspected the boy — Callie had called him Matthew — was being taken care of just fine. Better than fine, if this woman's mama-bear performance was any indication.
 * 2003 — Jennifer Evans Gardner, Barefoot in the Kitchen: A Pregnancy Survival Cookbook, Globe Pequot (2003), ISBN 9781592280391, page 57:
 * Perhaps it's because the mama-bear instinct has already kicked in — you're not just craving ice cream for you, after all, it's for your baby!
 * 2005 — Catherine Newman, Waiting for Birdy: A Year of Frantic Tedium, Neurotic Angst, and the Wild Magic of Growing a Family, Penguin (2005), ISBN 9780143034773, page 159:
 * The nurse gave me the baby. The bracelet was later discovered on the floor in a pile of blankets. I swear it wasn't my fault that I became so fierce. That mama-bear thing? It's not something you do. It's something you channel.
 * 2006 — Ray Korban, Anastasis Dunamis, Xulon Press (2006), ISBN 1600348114, page 30:
 * Hmmm, Josh wants them to make up their own mind. That's pretty clever. I'm interested in their thinking as well. But is it fair to throw them into a hubbub without warning? Are they mature enough to handle the immaturity of church politics? My mama-bear instinct doesn't want them hurt by this.
 * 2006 — Brooke Shields, Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression, Hyperion Books (2006), ISBN 9781401301897, page 154:
 * My mom's fierce Mama Bear attitude allowed me to let my guard down and be protected from many of the pitfalls of Hollywood, but because we were so ensconced in each other's lives, I also let her carry many of my other burdens.
 * 2006 — Nancy Wilson, Building Her House: Commonsensical Wisdom for Christian Women, Canon Press & Book Service (2006), ISBN 9781591280392, page 66:
 * The mama-bear syndrome does not encourage masculinity. The mama-bear is the mother who wants to fight all her son's battles for him and pick up all the pieces when he fails.
 * 2008 — Jennifer Prestigiacomo, "The Mother Protector Microgenre of Aliens, Panic Room and Poltergeist", AMC Blog, 26 October 2008:
 * Even if Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is not Newt's birth mother in Aliens, her mama bear instincts kick in when the going gets tough nevertheless.
 * 2009 — Joan Ryan, The Water Giver: The Story of a Mother, a Son, and Their Second Chance, Simon and Schuster (2009), ISBN 9781416576525, pages 88-89:
 * Her son and Ryan were in the same grade. She was a mama-bear type, fiercely protective. I remember her son and mine got into a tussle in third or fourth grade. Suddenly the smile was gone and she was making clear that Ryan had better keep his distance.
 * 2010 — Paul Karr, Frommer's Vermont, New Hampshire & Maine, John Wiley & Sons (2010), ISBN 9780470602249, page 384:
 * A few dozen black bears dwell in Baxter State Park, and while they're not interested in eating you, they do get ornery when disturbed (it's a mama-bear protective thing).
 * 2011 — Brooke Burke, The Naked Mom: Motherhood Revealed, Penguin (2011), ISBN 9780451232335, page 88:
 * Neriah, who's always been outspoken, suddenly put her hand in front of her face and begged them: "Can you just leave us alone?" Her plaintive little plea pushed my mama-bear button hard. I wheeled on our pursuers.
 * 2011 — Jeanette Murray, The Game of Love, Harlequin (2011), ISBN 9781426892127, page 63:
 * His mother's mama-bear instinct should be kicking in about now, wanting to defend her son from the big, bad man-eater.
 * 2011 — Denise Richards, The Real Girl Next Door, Simon and Schuster (2011), ISBN 9781451633214, page 147:
 * Sami was too young to even remember the party, and I'm sure the majority of the guests were uncomfortable watching as Charlie pretended to be cool and calm while I powered through the party with a mama bear ferocity that would probably frighten me if I saw a tape of it today.
 * 2011 — Alison Strobel, Composing Amelia, David C. Cook (2011), ISBN 9781434767738, page 324:
 * Her prior feelings of resentment and ambivalence toward the baby had been erased in those minutes after Hope's birth and then replaced by fierce mama-bear instincts that left her tormented at seeing her daughter laid out like a science experiment in the isolette.