colony collapse disorder

American  

noun

1. a pathological condition affecting a large number of honeybee colonies, in which various stresses may lead to the abrupt disappearance of worker bees from the hive, leaving only the queen and newly hatched bees behind and thus causing the colony to stop functioning. CCD

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colony collapse disorder Scientific  

1. A condition chiefly affecting the hives of domesticated honeybees, characterized by the sudden disappearance and death of so many worker bees that the colony cannot be maintained.

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Etymology

Origin of colony collapse disorder

First recorded in 2006

Example Sentences

Those who keep and study bees, as Jesse Plemons’s character does in the chilling sci-fi black comedy “Bugonia,” have paid a lot of attention to a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder, or CCD.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025

Honeybee colonies have been dying more frequently in recent years than they used to, in large part because of a phenomenon commonly known as colony collapse disorder.

From Washington Post • Sep. 21, 2022

When beekeepers began reporting, years ago, that domesticated honeybees were dying off in large numbers — a phenomenon now known as colony collapse disorder — it sparked a massive public awareness campaign.

From Salon • Feb. 6, 2022

People talk about the “loss” of bees to colony collapse disorder, and that appears to be the right word: Affected hives aren’t full of dead bees, but simply mysteriously empty.

From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2018

Honeybee populations in North America have been suffering large losses caused by a syndrome known as colony collapse disorder, a new phenomenon with an unclear cause.

From Textbooks • Sep. 6, 2018