beekeeper

American  

[bee-kee-per] / ˈbiˌki pər /

noun

• beekeepers
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• beekeeping
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• beekeepers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of beekeeper

First recorded in 1810–20; bee ¹ + keeper

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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

See Examples For:

beekeeper beekeepers

Someday she hopes to set up a free seed library, and she’s excited to see bluebird hatchlings in the bluebird house that Venice beekeeper Ian Kimbrey installed in her tree.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

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

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

Lamas and his colleagues then formulate advice to share with beekeepers around the nation.

From Barron's ● May 19, 2026

To combat infestations, beekeepers often rely on chemical treatments, but these solutions can become less effective over time.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 20, 2026

By 1947 commercial beekeepers were moving their hives miles away; smog was killing the bees, or making them crazy so they couldn’t find their way back home.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026

The harms from faked honey are mostly to the livelihoods of beekeepers.

From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026

Threats to the bee population became a global concern starting in 2006, when beekeepers first reported significant colony losses.

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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