beekeeper

American  

[bee-kee-per] / ˈbiˌki pər /

noun

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

• beekeeping noun

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

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

From Barron's • Nov. 15, 2025

Mr Williamson, a County Armagh beekeeper, said this behaviour typically takes place from mid to late summer and can prevent bees from foraging, causing them to starve.

From BBC • Oct. 18, 2025

Fellow beekeeper Heleen Nieman told Dutch radio that she had three bee colonies and wanted to give him one of them.

From BBC • Oct. 9, 2025

The locals say Agnes is the “child of a forest witch” and she is indeed extraordinary: an able herbalist, beekeeper and falconer.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 2, 2025

She still knows more about bees than anyone who isn’t an actual beekeeper because she got so into her sixth-grade science fair project.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison