honeybee

or hon·ey bee

[ huhn-ee-bee ]

/ ˈhʌn iˌbi /

Save This Word!

noun

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

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of honeybee

First recorded in 1560–70; honey + bee¹

Words nearby honeybee

honewort, honey, honey ant, honey badger, honey bear, honeybee, honeyberry, honey bucket, honey bun, honeybunch, honey buzzard

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

How to use honeybee in a sentence

She’s a honeybee biologist at Wellesley College in Massachusetts who also worked on the research.
Honeybees fend off deadly hornets by decorating hives with poop|Asher Jones|January 19, 2021|Science News For Students
Fecal spotting is the first clear example of honeybees using tools, say Mattila and Otis.
Honeybees fend off deadly hornets by decorating hives with poop|Asher Jones|January 19, 2021|Science News For Students
We know that mammals like humans, elephants, and even honeybees have ritualized ways of disposing of their dead, and that might be what’s happening with these fossils, she says.
These prehistoric rodents were social butterflies|Kat Eschner|November 3, 2020|Popular-Science
About a third of global agricultural output depends on pollination from animals, particularly honeybees, and the precipitous decline in bee populations is one of the many pressing threats to humanity.
The Fungal Evangelist Who Would Save the Bees - Issue 90: Something Green|Merlin Sheldrake|September 23, 2020|Nautilus

He is an expert on honeybee biology in Ontario, Canada at the University of Guelph.
Quacks and toots help young honeybee queens avoid deadly duels|Sharon Oosthoek|September 14, 2020|Science News For Students
The federal government plans to spend up to $80 million to fund research in connection with honeybee depopulation syndrome.
The Caviar of Condiments Under Threat|Katie Workman|September 15, 2009|DAILY BEAST
"Or maybe she wasn't a honeybee at all," I suggested, gloomily.
The Jonathan Papers|Elisabeth Woodbridge Morris
Once he disturbed a honeybee in the late afternoon, drunken and senseless on the fragrant flowers.
The Hive|Will Levington Comfort
Sometimes he does eat a honeybee, it is true, but it must be because he mistakes it for a large fly.
Father Thrift and His Animal Friends|Joseph Charles Sindelar
But Lem was not there, and she continued on to the old honeybee tree, where he sat on a log in deep meditation.
The Red Debt|Everett MacDonald
When they reached the old honeybee tree, they saw Slab cavorting down to meet them.
The Red Debt|Everett MacDonald

British Dictionary definitions for honeybee

honeybee

/ (ˈhʌnɪˌbiː) /

noun

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 beeswaxAlso called: hive bee

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

honeybee

or hon·ey bee

Origin of honeybee

Words nearby honeybee

Words related to honeybee

How to use honeybee in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for honeybee