bee

¹

[bee]

noun

1. any hymenopterous insect of the superfamily Apoidea, including social and solitary species of several families, as the bumblebee, honeybee, etc.

2. the common honeybee, Apis mellifera.

3. a community social gathering in order to perform some task, engage in a contest, etc..

   a sewing bee;

   a spelling bee;

   a husking bee.

bee

²

[bee]

noun

1. Also called bee block. Nautical.,  a piece of hardwood, bolted to the side of a bowsprit, through which to reeve stays.

2. Obsolete.,  a metal ring or bracelet.

B.E.E.

³

abbreviation

1. Bachelor of Electrical Engineering.

bee

¹

/ biː /

noun

1. any hymenopterous insect of the superfamily Apoidea , which includes social forms such as the honeybee and solitary forms such as the carpenter bee See also bumblebee mason bee

2. a person who is industrious or has many things to do

3. to be preoccupied or obsessed with an idea

bee

²

/ biː /

noun

1. a social gathering for a specific purpose, as to carry out a communal task or hold competitions

   quilting bee

2. See spelling bee

BEE

³

abbreviation

1. Black Economic Empowerment: a government policy aimed at encouraging and supporting shareholding by black people

bee

⁴

/ biː /

noun

1. nautical a small sheave with one cheek removed and the pulley and other cheek fastened flat to a boom or another spar, used for reeving outhauls or stays

Other Word Forms

• beelike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bee¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English be(e); Old English bīo, bēo; cognate with Dutch bij, Old Saxon bī, bini, Old High German bīa, bini ( German Biene ), Old Norse bȳ; with other suffixes, Lithuanian bìtė, Old Prussian bitte, Old Church Slavonic bĭchela, Old Irish bech; the unattested bhi- is a North European stem with the same distribution as wax ¹, apple; put the bee on is probably an allusion to sting in sense “dupe, cheat”

Origin of bee²

First recorded before 1050; Middle English bei, be, bih “ring,” Old English bēag, bēah, bēg; cognate with Old Frisian bāg, Old Saxon, Middle Low German bōg, Old High German boug, Old Norse baugr, Sanskrit bhoga-; akin to bow ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of bee¹

Old English bīo ; related to Old Norse bӯ , Old High German bīa , Dutch bij , Swedish bi

Origin of bee²

C18: perhaps from dialect bean neighbourly help, from Old English bēn boon

Origin of bee³

Old English bēag ; related to Old High German boug ring, Old Norse bogi a bow

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. have a bee in one's bonnet,

   1. to be obsessed with one idea.

   2. to have eccentric or fanciful ideas or schemes.

      Our aunt obviously has a bee in her bonnet, but we're very fond of her.

2. the bee's knees, (especially in the 1920s) a person or thing that is wonderful, great, or marvelous.

   Her new roadster is simply the bee's knees.

3. put the bee on, to try to obtain money from, as for a loan or donation.

   My brother just put the bee on me for another $10.

More idioms and phrases containing bee

• birds and the bees
• busy as a beaver (bee)
• make a beeline for
• none of one's business (beeswax)

Example Sentences

A field called swarm robotics is taking inspiration from ants, bees and even slime molds—simple creatures that achieve remarkable feats through collective intelligence.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The bees and the mice and the deer and the frogs and the raccoons and the squirrels and the snakes were all getting ready for cold weather.

Read more on Literature

As a bee lover I am on team pollinator - which is one of the reasons why my husband and I decided to plant our own wildflower meadow.

Read more on BBC

However, it doesn’t pose a threat to humans, according to Monjaraz Ruedas, who likened it to the strength of bee venom.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Teddy, a hobbyist beekeeper, opens the film alarmed that now the bees have disappeared, too.

Read more on Los Angeles Times