bumblebee
Americannoun
-
bumblebees
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bumblebee
Explanation
A bumblebee is a large, flying insect that pollenates flowers. Bumblebees are fatter and fuzzier than honeybees. They may look cute, but they can still sting you. A bumblebee is a completely different species than a honeybee, though it does make honey. Bumblebees produce honey in much smaller quantities, and it isn't harvested and eaten by people. Bumblebees also live in smaller groups, of up to four hundred bees, compared to honeybees' hives that have as many as 60,000 bees. In some places, they're called humblebees, from the Middle English humbul-be, which echoes the "hum" of a bee.
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.
See Examples For:
I spent 30 years consulting with investment firms worldwide, like a bumblebee moving from flower to flower.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
They compared honeybee and bumblebee colonies located side by side in Cambridgeshire, England, where soil contamination is generally considered low.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026
“If you were a bumblebee, a moth, or a short-tongued solitary bee, how might you approach this bloom?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
They were lost within the rubble of their fire-ravaged home: loungewear, blanket, bumblebee sweater and beanie — all yellow, Tatum’s favorite color.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2025
A soaking bumblebee crawled over a thistle bloom, vibrated its wings for a few seconds and then flew away down the field.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
Conservationists say the best way to help is by creating more flower-rich habitats, so bumblebees can find food even as the climate becomes more extreme.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Scientists stress that warm, sunny weather is not automatically bad for bumblebees.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Pesticides are only one of several challenges affecting bumblebees.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
Department of Agriculture funded study, worker bumblebees were exposed to low doses of the pesticide before researchers examined changes in their gene expression.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
Hummingbirds, butterflies, and bumblebees had returned to the yard.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
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.
