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Showing results for "hives"
  • present tense form of hive (3rd person singular).
  • plural of hive.
Synonyms

hives

American  
[hahyvz] / haɪvz /

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)
  1. any of various eruptive conditions of the skin, as the wheals of urticaria.


hives British  
/ haɪvz /

noun

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

"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

hives Scientific  
/ hīvz /
  1. A skin condition characterized by transient, itching welts, usually resulting from an allergic reaction.


hives Cultural  
  1. 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.


Etymology

Origin of hives

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


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

If I err, and I do, my legs sometimes itch so fiercely they feel on fire and I break out in hives.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

Two hives were initially installed and staff were recruited to train as beekeepers.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

These computing hives generate data, jobs, income, wealth and not much else.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Al-Dabba and his sons, donning protective netted hats and wielding metal bee smokers, gently inspect the neat rows of teeming hives.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

I watched her load the red wagon, the one I’d seen in the backyard, with brood frames, those little slats that slip down in the hives for the bees to deposit honey on.

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

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