bee
1any hymenopterous insect of the superfamily Apoidea, including social and solitary species of several families, as the bumblebee, honeybee, 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 about bee
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: Older Use. 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
1Other words from bee
- beelike, adjective
Words that may be confused with bee
- be, bee
Words Nearby bee
Other definitions for bee (2 of 3)
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
2Other definitions for B.E.E. (3 of 3)
Bachelor of Electrical Engineering.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use bee in a sentence
Experts suggest that at best, a workplace with no interaction between siloed groups—creative with finance, for example—can make people feel more like worker bees.
Remote workers want to re-create those watercooler moments, virtually | Tanya Basu | August 17, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewThen the team estimated what percentage of the yield native bees were adding — versus just doing what honeybees would have done anyway.
Wild bees add about $1.5 billion to yields for just six U.S. crops | Susan Milius | August 4, 2020 | Science NewsOn hot days, for instance, it releases higher levels of thymol — amounts that might harm bees.
For teens, big problems may lead to meaningful research | Carolyn Wilke | July 28, 2020 | Science News For StudentsIn such mass attacks, hornets bite the heads off adult bees.
What you need to know about ‘murder hornets’ | Susan Milius | July 20, 2020 | Science News For StudentsWorker ants and bees can be nonreproductive members of social-colony “superorganisms.”
What Is an Individual? Biology Seeks Clues in Information Theory. | Jordana Cepelewicz | July 16, 2020 | Quanta Magazine
It features a young girl at a spelling bee who is asked to spell “Hagan.”
In North Carolina, GOP Overreach May Be More Unpopular Than Obama | Dean Obeidallah | November 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHow 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 | THE DAILY BEASTIn an ad called “Spelling bee,” a young child spells “Pryor” as “O-B-A-M-A,” to which the judge says, “Close enough.”
Certainly there are some Asians who have gleefully embraced the image of being the diligent worker bee.
Model Minority Rage: Why the Hulk Should Be an Asian Guy | Arthur Chu | July 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIf 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 | THE DAILY BEASTAbout an hour after resuming their walk, the major went off in hot pursuit of an enormous bee, which he saw humming round a bush.
Hunting the Lions | R.M. BallantyneBut like the bee, while impelled by an instinct that makes it search for sugar, it sucks in therewith its solid sustenance.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockI am not quite certain that the bee does exactly do this; but it is just the kind of thing that the bee is likely to do.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockWhen he first worked her she had the old bee-but boiler, 24 feet in diameter.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickSuch a "bee" as that was had never before buzzed on that mountain, even though this was by no means the first one known there.
Dorothy at Skyrie | Evelyn Raymond
British Dictionary definitions for bee (1 of 4)
/ (biː) /
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
Origin of bee
1British Dictionary definitions for bee (2 of 4)
/ (biː) /
a social gathering for a specific purpose, as to carry out a communal task or hold competitions: quilting bee
See spelling bee
Origin of bee
2British Dictionary definitions for bee (3 of 4)
/ (biː) /
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
Origin of bee
3British Dictionary definitions for BEE (4 of 4)
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with 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)
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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