hive

[hahyv]

noun

a shelter constructed for housing a colony of honeybees; beehive.

the colony of bees inhabiting a hive.

something resembling a beehive in structure or use.

a place swarming with busy occupants: a hive of industry.

a swarming or teeming multitude.

verb (used with object), hived, hiv·ing.

to gather into or cause to enter a hive.

to shelter as in a hive.

to store up in a hive.

to store or lay away for future use or enjoyment.

verb (used without object), hived, hiv·ing.

(of bees) to enter a hive.

to live together in or as in a hive.

Verb Phrases

hive off, British. to become transferred from the main body of a commercial or industrial enterprise through the agency of new ownership.

Origin of hive

before 900; Middle English; Old English hȳf; akin to Old Norse hūfr ship's hull, Latin cūpa vat

Related formshive·less, adjectivehive·like, adjectivehiv·er, noun

Synonyms for hive

4. hub, center.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for hive off

hive off

verb (adverb)

to transfer or be transferred from a larger group or unit

(usually tr) to transfer (profitable activities of a nationalized industry) back to private ownership

hive

noun

a structure in which social bees live and rear their young

a colony of social bees

a place showing signs of great industry (esp in the phrase a hive of activity)

a teeming crowd; multitude

an object in the form of a hive

verb

to cause (bees) to collect or (of bees) to collect inside a hive

to live or cause to live in or as if in a hive

(tr) (of bees) to store (honey, pollen, etc) in the hive

(tr; often foll by up or away) to store, esp for future usehe used to hive away a small sum every week

Derived Formshivelike, adjective

Word Origin for hive

Old English hӯf; related to Westphalian hüwe, Old Norse hūfr ship's hull, Latin cūpa barrel, Greek kupē, Sanskrit kūpa cave

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hive off

hive

Old English hyf "beehive," from Proto-Germanic *hufiz (cf. Old Norse hufr "hull of a ship"), from PIE *keup- "round container, bowl" (cf. Sanskrit kupah "hollow, pit, cave," Greek kypellon "cup," Latin cupa "tub, cask, vat"). Figurative sense of "swarming, busy place" is from 1630s. As a verb, of bees, etc., "to form themselves into a hive," c.1400; "to put bees in a hive," mid-15c.