hive

[hahyv]

noun

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

2. the colony of bees inhabiting a hive.

3. something resembling a beehive in structure or use.

4. a place swarming with busy occupants.

   a hive of industry.

   Synonyms: center, hub

5. a swarming or teeming multitude.

verb (used with object)

hived, hiving 

1. to gather into or cause to enter a hive.

2. to shelter as in a hive.

3. to store up in a hive.

4. to store or lay away for future use or enjoyment.

verb (used without object)

hived, hiving 

1. (of bees) to enter a hive.

2. to live together in or as in a hive.

verb phrase

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

hive

/ haɪv /

noun

1. a structure in which social bees live and rear their young

2. a colony of social bees

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

4. a teeming crowd; multitude

5. an object in the form of a hive

verb

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

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

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

4. (tr; often foll by up or away) to store, esp for future use

   he used to hive away a small sum every week

Other Word Forms

• hivelike adjective
• hiveless adjective
• hiver noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hive¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of hive¹

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

Example Sentences

Mr Stringer said police had told him an accelerant had been used to burn the hives, which were sitting on pallets in a wooded part of the park.

Read more on BBC

Cambodia at the time was a hive for adventurous foreigners, some seeking to do good, others to make money.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Many “Alien: Earth” viewers might claim to be shocked at her mutiny if we didn’t know how vicious 11-year-old girls can be when given the opportunity to preside over a social hive.

Read more on Salon

Fortunately, his own 1,500 hives are intact, because the fire stopped just metres away from the fields where he keeps them.

Read more on BBC

Tillman: There was a point it would make me break out in hives because it felt like I had no control over it.

Read more on Los Angeles Times