honey

American  

[huhn-ee] / ˈhʌn i /

noun

• honeys
  plural

1. a sweet, viscid fluid produced by bees from the nectar collected from flowers, and stored in nests or hives as food.

2. this substance as used in cooking or as a spread or sweetener.

3. the nectar of flowers.

4. any of various similarly sweet, viscid products produced by insects or in other ways.

5. something sweet, delicious, or delightful.

   the honey of flattery.

6. Informal. a person for whom one feels love or deep affection; sweetheart; darling.

7. (sometimes initial capital letter) an affectionate or familiar term of address, as to a child or romantic partner (sometimes offensive when used to strangers, casual acquaintances, subordinates, etc., especially by a male to a female).

8. Informal. something of especially high quality, degree of excellence, etc..

   That's a honey of a computer.

---

adjective

1. of, like, or pertaining to honey; sweet.

2. containing honey or flavored or sweetened with honey.

verb (used with object)

honeyed, honied, honeying

1. Informal. to talk flatteringly or endearingly to (often followed byup ).

2. to sweeten or flavor with or as if with honey.

verb (used without object)

honeyed, honied, honeying

1. Informal. to use flattery, endearing terms, etc., in an effort to obtain something (often followed byup ).

   They always got what they wanted by honeying up to their grandfather.

honey British  

/ ˈhʌnɪ /

noun

1. a sweet viscid substance made by bees from nectar and stored in their nests or hives as food. It is spread on bread or used as a sweetening agent

2. any similar sweet substance, esp the nectar of flowers

3. anything that is sweet or delightful

4. (often capital) a term of endearment

5. informal something considered to be very good of its kind

   a honey of a car

6. (modifier) of, concerned with, or resembling honey

---

verb

1. (tr) to sweeten with or as if with honey

2. (often foll by up) to talk to (someone) in a fond or flattering way

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• honey-like
  adjective
• honeyful
  adjective
• honeyless
  adjective
• honeylike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• honeys
  plural

Etymology

Origin of honey

before 900; Middle English hony, Old English hunig; cognate with Dutch, German honig, Old Norse hunang; akin to Greek knēkós pale yellow, tawny

Explanation

Honey is the sweet, sticky substance that bees make from flower nectar. Most people like to put a little honey in their tea, but Winnie the Pooh likes to hoard it in a big pot. Honey comes in various consistencies — from almost solid, in honeycomb, to drippy and liquid. Bees produce honey and store it for food, and humans often take advantage of this, harvesting the honey for themselves. Honey is also a color, the golden shade of most honey, and a verb, meaning "to add honey," or "to make sweet." Since the 14th century, people have also called each other honey as an affectionate nickname.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

honey honeys honeyed honeying honied

This version simmers ripe peaches with honey and whole black peppercorns until the fruit collapses and the syrup turns fragrant, floral and just a little prickly.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

However, the young woman soon learns that the world of honey isn't as sweet as it seems.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

“That gives me solace. I will see you on the flip side, honey bunny.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Fewer foraging trips could mean less food entering the hive, lower honey production, and reduced pollination of nearby plants.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026

Frank produced sandwiches, and homemade honey flapjacks, and black coffee from a flask.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Jams, jellies and honeys make perfect pairings for much of what’s on offer.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 18, 2023

I wish there more details about the honeys offered and how to use honey, such as Nicole's note about its viscosity and how it can change so much once cooked.

From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2023

Vendors are hawking flower crowns, drinking horns, herbal tea blends and artisanal wildflower honeys while the pop-up taverns declaring “COLD DRYNKS” attend to parched wayfarers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2022

A new ramp vinegar, called Zeal, is from Brightland, a company based in Los Angeles that gets its products, mostly olive oils, vinegars and honeys, from small producers in California and elsewhere.

From New York Times ● Mar. 21, 2022

Presently, a pretty dark-eyed Southern lady appeared, who called us "honeys," and "dear little girls."

From The Expedition of the Donner Party and its Tragic Fate by Eliza Poor Donner Houghton

On a recent evening, from a seat at the restaurant’s fluted blonde-wood bar, I watched as a blaze of honeyed light poured through a wall of windows overlooking sloping vineyards and the Appalachian foothills.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

They burst into action with an explosion of pyrotechnics and fireworks with Hooligan, which showcased their trademark blend of honeyed harmonies and crisp rap verses.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

“Howling” — the fierce yet honeyed lead track on “Awe” — saw the group transformed into a futuristic wolf pack.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026

Think clusters of honeyed oats, a handful of nuts, a whisper of cinnamon or maple, a pinch of sea salt.

From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2025

It was better: a honeyed pastry filled with pale-green nuts and rose petal jelly.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Russian Journey is his most interesting book to date and offers a penetrating glimpse of the enigmatic bear which is currently bent on retracting its claws and honeying up the world.

From Time Magazine Archive

I’d always felt that way, too, till he come honeying round me this spring.

From Captain Pott's Minister by Francis L. (Francis Le Roy) Cooper

So she set briskly about her task, honeying Eugene the while, for she was confident that this above all things was the thing he needed.

From The "Genius" by Theodore Dreiser

But honeying at the whisper of a lord: And one the Master, as a rogue in grain, Veneer'd with sanctimonious theory.'

From Aspects of Modern Oxford by A. D. (Alfred Denis) Godley

Ay, but the young colt winced and whinnied and flung up her heels; and then the King came honeying about her, and this Becket, her father's friend, like enough staved us from her.

From Becket and other plays by Alfred Tennyson, Baron Tennyson

Within hours Columbia Artists' Vice-President William Judd was on the transatlantic phone with honied words.

From Time Magazine Archive

And I, listening, Found not the salt of the whispers of my girl, Murmur of confused colors, as we lay near sleep; Little wise words and little witty words, Wanton as water, honied with eagerness.

From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck

The Losengour or pleasant flatterer was too lightly believed, and honied words made more harmful the deceitful error.

From Amenities of Literature Consisting of Sketches and Characters of English Literature by Isaac Disraeli

The most peculiar of these is the long spiral "sucker," which extracts the honied food from the blossoms to which its wings so gracefully waft it.

From British Butterfiles Figures and Descriptions of Every Native Species by W. S. (William Stephen) Coleman

But in my dreams,—in honied sleep,— 'Tis I to smile, and she to weep!

From Love Letters of a Violinist and Other Poems by Eric Mackay