bear in the air
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
A police helicopter.
Register: slang
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Examples
By the time we got into Tulsa Town
We had eighty-five trucks in all
But there's a roadblock up on the cloverleaf
And them bears was wall-to-wall.
Yeah, them smokies is thick as bugs on a bumper
They even had a bear in the air.
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “bear in the air” mean?
A police helicopter.
Is “bear in the air” formal or informal?
bear in the air is generally slang.