honeybee

American  

[huhn-ee-bee] / ˈhʌn iˌbi /

Or honey bee

noun

honeybees plural

1. any bee that collects and stores honey, especially Apis mellifera.

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honeybee British  

/ ˈhʌnɪˌbiː /

noun

1. Also called: hive bee.  any of various social honey-producing bees of the genus Apis, esp A. mellifera, which has been widely domesticated as a source of honey and beeswax

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• honeybees
  plural

Etymology

Origin of honeybee

First recorded in 1560–70; honey + bee ¹

Explanation

Honeybees are the winged insects that beekeepers like best, because they naturally produce extra honey and can be raised to produce the sweet, sticky stuff. Honeybees, as their name implies, make a lot of honey, storing surplus amounts in their waxy hives. Humans have domesticated two species of honeybee, raising them for the extra honey they produce. You can tell the difference between a bumblebee, which is native to North America, and a honeybee, native to Africa, Asia, and Europe, by comparing their bodies. Honeybees are slim, with a distinct head, while bumblebees are fat and fuzzy.

Example Sentences

For many years, scientists believed the recipe for creating a queen honeybee was straightforward: give a developing larva plenty of royal jelly, and it becomes the colony's ruler.

From Science Daily • Jun. 23, 2026

My wife and daughter are going to get a smoothie called the honeybee, which is very sweet and delicious.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 2, 2026

Larger-scale trials are now needed to assess the long-term impacts of the food on honeybee health, but the supplement could be available to beekeepers and farmers within two years.

From BBC • Aug. 20, 2025

Much of the movement to "save the bees" in the U.S. has been focused on a single species: Apis mellifera, the European honeybee.

From Salon • Apr. 17, 2025

We watched a honeybee lurch from one fat flower to the next, drunk and staggering under the weight of all that botanical destiny.

From "How I Live Now" by Meg Rosoff