hives

[ hahyvz ]

See synonyms for hives on Thesaurus.com

noun(used with a singular or plural verb)Pathology.

any of various eruptive conditions of the skin, as the wheals of urticaria.

Origin of hives

First recorded in 1490–1500; originally Scots; of obscure origin

Words Nearby hives

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hives in a sentence

That kind of slightly over-anxious, wrapping up of objects in connoisseurship brings me out in hives.
The Writer and the Potter: Edmund De Waal on his New York Debut | Iain Millar | September 12, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Playing overbearing guardians of their only child, these characters love their son so much that it gives him stress-induced hives.
‘The Kings of Summer’ Stars on Survival Skills, Girls, Becoming Men, and More | Anna Klassen | May 31, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Despite the problems, the number of hives hasn't fallen since CCD first showed up in 2006.
How Markets Cope With Disappearing Bees | Megan McArdle | April 15, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Because beekeepers have responded to the loss of hives by creating new ones.
How Markets Cope With Disappearing Bees | Megan McArdle | April 15, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
If there's enough money to be made, beekeepers will work very hard to build more hives.
How Markets Cope With Disappearing Bees | Megan McArdle | April 15, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

Women were plaiting hives in the open air; and the bees were abroad, mingling their humming with the murmurs from the sea.
Toilers of the Sea | Victor Hugo
It is ayether a cure f'r th' hives or enthers largely into th' mannyfacture iv carpet slippers.
Mr. Dooley Says | Finley Dunne
At the same time several houses like bee-hives were perceived.
Celebrated Travels and Travellers | Jules Verne
A small garden was attached, in the walls of which are still to be seen the recesses which contained Mike's bee-hives.
Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents and Strange Events | S. Baring-Gould
Above all, he had the reputation of stealing bee-hives, to which the fact of his being a bee-keeper was a sort of cover.
Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents and Strange Events | S. Baring-Gould

British Dictionary definitions for hives

hives

/ (haɪvz) /

noun

(functioning as singular or plural) pathol a nontechnical name for urticaria

Origin of hives

C16: of uncertain origin

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

Scientific definitions for hives

hives

[ hīvz ]

A skin condition characterized by transient, itching welts, usually resulting from an allergic reaction.

Cultural definitions for hives

hives

A condition characterized by the sudden appearance of red, raised areas on the skin that itch severely. Hives may be caused by an allergic reaction (see allergy) to foods or other substances.

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