bumblebee
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of bumblebee
Explanation
A bumblebee is a large, flying insect that pollenates flowers. Bumblebees are fatter and fuzzier than honeybees. They may look cute, but they can still sting you. A bumblebee is a completely different species than a honeybee, though it does make honey. Bumblebees produce honey in much smaller quantities, and it isn't harvested and eaten by people. Bumblebees also live in smaller groups, of up to four hundred bees, compared to honeybees' hives that have as many as 60,000 bees. In some places, they're called humblebees, from the Middle English humbul-be, which echoes the "hum" of a bee.
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.
“If you were a bumblebee, a moth, or a short-tongued solitary bee, how might you approach this bloom?”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
They were lost within the rubble of their fire-ravaged home: loungewear, blanket, bumblebee sweater and beanie — all yellow, Tatum’s favorite color.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 24, 2025
Buglife said at least two of the UK's 25 species of bumblebee were believed to have started nest-building early.
From BBC • Jan. 7, 2025
In bumblebee colonies across Europe, we found an average of eight, and up to 27, distinct pesticide compounds.
From Salon • May 14, 2024
A fairy with raven black hair and bumblebee wings approached the bowl.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
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.
