bumblebee
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
I spent 30 years consulting with investment firms worldwide, like a bumblebee moving from flower to flower.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
Dr Paul Williams, a bumblebee expert at the Natural History Museum, says foraging is an energy calculation for bumblebees.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
“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
It wasn’t because she wasn’t interested in that bumblebee, but Joe had to know about taking care of Mr. Chris if he didn’t know it already.
From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen
As well as their overheating bodies, the other issue for bumblebees is dwindling supplies of food.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Scientists stress that warm, sunny weather is not automatically bad for bumblebees.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Pesticides are only one of several challenges affecting bumblebees.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
Scientists found that bumblebees collected up to seven times more heavy metals in their pollen, raising concerns about how hidden pollution could affect their health, survival, and ability to reproduce.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026
He might trot over to sniff a shrub or snap at the bumblebees on the clover by the porch, but he always glanced back to make sure I was still there.
From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor
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.
