hive

American  

[hahyv] / haɪv /

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.

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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 British  

/ 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

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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

• hiveless adjective
• hivelike adjective
• hiver noun

Etymology

Origin of hive

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

Example Sentences

Enough to create a hive mind and prank the both of us at once, I thought.

From Literature

The floor tilts, and my head buzzes like a swarm of bees has been let loose from its hive.

From Literature

Their desolation contrasts with hives of construction activity nearby, where cranes tower over designer redevelopments.

From The Wall Street Journal

Novartis said the drug offers a differentiated mechanism that, if confirmed clinically, could support earlier symptom relief, stronger disease control and more convenient dosing across food allergy, hives, allergic asthma and other diseases.

From The Wall Street Journal

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