beekeeper

American  

[bee-kee-per] / ˈbiˌki pər /

noun

beekeepers plural

1. a person who raises honeybees; apiculturist.

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beekeeper British  

/ ˈbiːˌkiːpə /

noun

1. a person who keeps bees for their honey; apiarist

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• beekeeping
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• beekeepers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of beekeeper

First recorded in 1810–20; bee ¹ + keeper

Explanation

A beekeeper is someone who manages bee hives and extracts honey. If you see a person wearing a white jumpsuit and a hat with a veil — and they're covered in buzzing insects — it's probably a beekeeper. If you want to get really fancy, you can call a beekeeper an apiarist. Beekeepers manage apiaries, or networks of honey bee hives. They care for the hives, making sure they are an ideal environment for the bees to live and make honey. It's also the beekeeper's job to carefully extract honeycomb without harming the bees. Many people keep bees as a hobby, yielding just a little bit of honey each year.

Example Sentences

Someday she hopes to set up a free seed library, and she’s excited to see bluebird hatchlings in the bluebird house that Venice beekeeper Ian Kimbrey installed in her tree.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

Funkhouser, a veteran commercial beekeeper, should have around 1,200 hives under his care.

From Barron's • May 19, 2026

There are even bees and a beekeeper, who harvests honey for employees to take home.

From Barron's • Nov. 15, 2025

Teddy, a hobbyist beekeeper, opens the film alarmed that now the bees have disappeared, too.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 23, 2025

“Oh, yes, Aristaeus. Every beekeeper should know that story.”

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd