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.
"I've recorded 18 out of the 24 bumblebee species in the UK here," the insect research scientist said - "it's a really, really special place."
From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026
In bumblebee colonies across Europe, we found an average of eight, and up to 27, distinct pesticide compounds.
From Salon • May 14, 2024
"Unfortunately, we're looking at a future scenario where about one in five bumblebee species in the United States could be endangered," Mola continued.
From Science Daily • Apr. 4, 2024
The floor, the railings and even the paper in the beekeepers’ desktop inboxes are bumblebee yellow.
From New York Times • Feb. 13, 2024
More favors, innocent enough — packages to the mailbox, expeditious disposal of a bumblebee.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
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.
