beehive
Americannoun
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a habitation or dwelling-place constructed for bees, usually either dome-shaped or box-shaped.
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a natural habitation of bees, as a hollowed-out tree.
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a crowded, busy place.
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something resembling an artificial beehive in appearance, as a hut or hairdo.
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Also called beehive oven. an oven for converting coal into coke, characterized by its dome-shaped roof.
noun
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a man-made receptacle used to house a swarm of bees
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a dome-shaped hair style in which the hair is piled high on the head
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a place where busy people are assembled
noun
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the dome-shaped building that houses sections of Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand
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the New Zealand government
Etymology
Origin of beehive
Explanation
A beehive is a structure — either made by humans or bees — in which bees live and make honey. You might find a beehive in a hollow tree. If you become a beekeeper, you will either build or buy one or more beehives for your bees to live in. You might wear a protective suit, with a hat and netting that covers your face, when you are cleaning or checking on your beehives, to avoid being stung. Around 1960, the word beehive began being used to refer to a remarkable hairstyle, a round, high teased style that requires plenty of hairspray.
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.
Which begs the question: When Pierson chose her first beehive wig in 1976, did she realise it would become her signature look for the next five decades?
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
Behind the apostles, in a beehive of sociable activity, wingless angels busy themselves with rituals—tending to oil lamps, burning cypress branches, playing musical instruments.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026
This batting beehive shows how straight England bowled to Shubman Gill.
From BBC • Jul. 2, 2025
Manville’s real-people arc continued with this year’s “Back to Black,” in which she’s Amy Winehouse’s beloved grandmother Cynthia, a former singer herself who created her granddaughter’s signature beehive hairdo.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 31, 2024
Under the floor of the queen’s sister’s hut was a beehive, and we would sometimes take up a floorboard or two and feast on its honey.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
