bee

[bee]

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noun

any hymenopterous insect of the superfamily Apoidea, including social and solitary species of several families, as the bumblebees, honeybees, etc.

the common honeybee, Apis mellifera.

a community social gathering in order to perform some task, engage in a contest, etc.: a sewing bee; a spelling bee; a husking bee.

Idioms

have a bee in one's bonnet,

to be obsessed with one idea.
to have eccentric or fanciful ideas or schemes: Our aunt obviously has a bee in her bonnet, but we're very fond of her.

put the bee on, Informal. to try to obtain money from, as for a loan or donation: My brother just put the bee on me for another $10.

the bee's knees, Older Slang. (especially in the 1920s) a person or thing that is wonderful, great, or marvelous: Her new roadster is simply the bee's knees.

Origin of bee

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, OPruss bitte, OCS bĭchela, Old Irish bech; *bhi- is a North European stem with the same distribution as wax¹, apple; put the bee on probably an allusion to sting in sense “dupe, cheat”

Related formsbee·like, adjective

Can be confusedbe bee

bee

[bee]

noun

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

Obsolete. a metal ring or bracelet.

Origin of bee

before 1050; Middle English beh ring, Old English bēag, bēah; cognate with Old Frisian bāg, Old Saxon, Middle Low German bōg, Old High German boug, Old Norse baugr, Sanskrit bhoga-; akin to bow¹

B.E.E.

Bachelor of Electrical Engineering.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for bee

drone, bumblebee, party, harvest, social

Examples from the Web for bee

Contemporary Examples of bee

How could anyone think that their dislike of the Bee Gees made anything about Disco Demolition Night acceptable?
Of Gamers, Gates, and Disco Demolition: The Roots of Reactionary Rage
Arthur Chu
October 16, 2014
If someone put a gun to your head and said, ‘Find the Bee Gees in 30 seconds,’ you could do it.
The Stacks: The Inimitable Albert Brooks Caught at the Dawn of His Movie Career
Paul Slansky
April 13, 2014
After determining that the bee pollen and mushroom broth were inedible, the “detox” quickly went downhill.
We Were Gwyneth’s GOOP Guinea Pigs
Erin Cunningham, Olivia Nuzzi
March 30, 2014
The Bee Pollen juice looked appetizing and resembled a juice I routinely enjoy that consists of pineapple, apple, and lime.
We Were Gwyneth’s GOOP Guinea Pigs
Erin Cunningham, Olivia Nuzzi
March 30, 2014
And, of course, a rebuke to our current politics and especially our president, who seems unable to prod a bee to buzz.
‘Breaking Bad’ in the White House: Bryan Cranston as LBJ in 'All the Way'
David Freedlander
March 7, 2014

Historical Examples of bee

A bee entered one of the chambers with a prophecy of flowers.
Buds and Bird Voices (From "Mosses From An Old Manse")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Napoleon withdrew his hand as sharply as if a bee amid the fruit had stung him.
The Boy Life of Napoleon
Eugenie Foa
I asked, for it might have been a bird, a bird-like moth, or a bee.
Green Mansions
W. H. Hudson
His palace was as yellow a home as a dandelion to a bee, but not half so sweet.
Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew
Josephine Preston Peabody
But the good ship sped like any bee that knows the way home.
Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew
Josephine Preston Peabody

British Dictionary definitions for bee

bee

noun

any hymenopterous insect of the superfamily Apoidea, which includes social forms such as the honeybee and solitary forms such as the carpenter beeSee also bumblebee, mason bee Related adjective: apian

busy bee a person who is industrious or has many things to do

have a bee in one's bonnet to be preoccupied or obsessed with an idea

Word Origin for bee

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

bee

noun

a social gathering for a specific purpose, as to carry out a communal task or hold competitionsquilting bee

See spelling bee

Word Origin for bee

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

bee

noun

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

Word Origin for bee

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

BEE

abbreviation for (in South Africa)

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bee

stinging insect, Old English beo "bee," from Proto-Germanic *bion (cf. Old Norse by, Old High German bia, Middle Dutch bie), possibly from PIE root *bhi- "quiver." Used metaphorically for "busy worker" since 1530s.

Sense of "meeting of neighbors to unite their labor for the benefit of one of their number," 1769, American English, probably is from comparison to the social activity of the insect; this was extended to other senses (e.g. spelling bee, first attested 1809; Raising-bee (1814) for building construction; also hanging bee "a lynching"). To have a bee in (one's) bonnet (1825), said of one who is harebrained or has an intense new notion or fancy, is said in Jamieson to be Scottish, perhaps from earlier expressions such as head full of bees (1510s), denoting mad mental activity.

Idioms and Phrases with bee

bee

In addition to the idiom beginning with bee

bee in one's bonnet
been around
been had
been there, done that
been to the wars

also see:

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