beeline
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of beeline
Explanation
A beeline is the swiftest, most direct route between two points. If you are shopping at the mall on a weekend afternoon and you see an empty parking space, you should make a beeline for it or risk circling the lot for hours. The word beeline combines the words bee and line. The idea behind the word is the belief that a bee, when it is done feeding, will take the shortest path back to its hive without delay or meandering. So beeline not only has the sense of being a direct route, but also that there is some haste behind the action. If you make a beeline for the chocolate at a party, you went straight to the dessert table without eating dinner first.
Vocabulary lists containing beeline
This Week in Pop Culture: February 2 - 8, 2019
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They made a beeline to the gift shop for the one prize more coveted than a green jacket: a garden gnome.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
Villaraigosa flitted around the racers’ VIP tent, spotted a bowl of fortune cookies and made a beeline.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026
Meanwhile, a few steps away, pals and “SmartLess” co-hosts Jason Bateman and Will Arnett made a beeline for the sushi bar.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2026
But she made a beeline back to the coast, settling in the craggy bluffs outside desirable Topanga.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025
John Harvey made a beeline for his lucky spot at the end.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
