hive

[ hahyv ]

/ haɪv /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hive ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

RELATED WORDS

colony, swarm, beehive

Nearby words

hittitology, hitzig, hiv, hiv positive, hiva oa, hive, hive bee, hive dross, hive mind, hive off, hives

Origin of hive

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

SYNONYMS FOR hive

4 hub, center.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hive ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

hive·less, adjectivehive·like, adjectivehiv·er, noun

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

Examples from the Web for hive

The drones, as it were, had to rest at their stations, constantly maintaining the hive for the greater good.
The Secret Soviet Power Bunker—in Latvia, a Hiding Place for the Elite|Brandon Presser|September 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Since the mid-19th century, Sicily has been known as a hive of Mafioso activity.
Palermo Is Not Just for the Mafia Anymore|Alia Akkam|August 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This conservative, evangelical megachurch, just outside San Diego, is a hive of activity on a Sunday morning.
Even After Hobby Lobby, the Religious Right is Still Terrified|Gene Robinson|July 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Burt called on his beekeeper pal, who scooped up the bees from the fencepost with his bare hands, and dumped them into a hive.
Burt’s Bees Co-Founder Burt Shavitz on the Doc ‘Burt’s Buzz,’ and Losing Millions|Marlow Stern|September 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The honey cart full, Andrew puts the roof back on the hive and we take the elevator down to the second-floor kitchen.
Honey Harvest at the Waldorf Astoria’s Beehives|Josh Dzieza|August 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
From the Masovians, who are great people to multiply, and who increase like bees in a hive, are descended most of those colonists.
Hania|Henryk Sienkiewicz
And in case a hum was heard that sounded like a hive, a certain cry, twice repeated, was to summon all the others to the spot.
The Boy Scouts on the Trail|Herbert Carter
Man helps in this work, but woman leads; the hive is always in confusion without the queen bee.
Household Papers and Stories|Harriet Beecher Stowe
The workers chew them (they are useless unchewed) into the all-supporting, all-embracing Wax of the Hive.
Actions and Reactions|Rudyard Kipling
Nuova and Hero were not only saved, but they were become in a second King and Queen of the hive.
Nuova|Vernon Kellogg

British Dictionary definitions for hive

hive

/ (haɪv) /

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 Forms

hivelike, 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