Meaning of woolly bear | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A hairy caterpillar.
   colloquial
2. The larva of a moth of the family Arctiidae.
   colloquial
3. An explosive shell that gives out dense smoke when it bursts.
   historical, slang

Equivalents

Examples

“As Bourne came out, he could see⟳ shells exploding by the dump⟳, with some shrapnel bursting, woolly-bears they called them, overhead.”

“‘A Woolly Bear⟳ was used for demolition, and could be compared with our 5.9's. It burst⟳ on impact, made a big hole and left a tremendous cloud of black smoke⟳.’”

CEFR level