bee

¹ American  

[bee] / bi /

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.

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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.

bee ² American  

[bee] / bi /

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.

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B.E.E. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. Bachelor of Electrical Engineering.

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bee ¹ British  

/ 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

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bee ² British  

/ 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

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BEE ³ British  

abbreviation

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

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bee ⁴ British  

/ 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

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bee More Idioms  

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)

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Other Word Forms

• beelike adjective

Etymology

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

Explanation

A bee is a fuzzy, buzzing insect that flies and sometimes stings. Many flower gardens are especially planned to attract bees. Bees have two pairs of wings and a long tongue-like proboscis that's used for collecting nectar from flowers. Bees are vital in the health of many plants, because they help to pollinate them, spreading pollen so they can reproduce and spread. Some bees also make honey. Because bees appear to be constantly moving and buzzing, since the mid-1500's they'e been equated with hard workers, as in the phrases "worker bee" and "busy as a bee."

Example Sentences

It’s a tribute to the elderly, the anonymous worker bee explains.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

Much later, a bee arrived, searching for a place to build its nest among the debris left behind.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

Now we’re on Vegas World; now we’re on Jurassic Planet; now we’re on a planet ruled by a gigantic queen bee.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

A lot of them had excelled in school: We talked to a boy that had just won a spelling bee, for example.

From Slate • Mar. 20, 2026

Miss Effie Belle had a grim face any time, punctuated by a big pink wart that stuck out from the side of her upper lip like the feeler of a bee.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns