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honeycomb

American  
[huhn-ee-kohm] / ˈhʌn iˌkoʊm /

noun

  1. a structure of rows of hexagonal wax cells, formed by bees in their hive for the storage of honey, pollen, and their eggs.

  2. a piece of this containing honey and chewed as a sweet.

  3. anything whose appearance suggests such a structure, especially in containing many small units or holes.

    The building was a honeycomb of offices and showrooms.

  4. the reticulum of a ruminant.

  5. Textiles.

    1. Also called waffle cloth.  a fabric with an embossed surface woven in a pattern resembling a honeycomb.

    2. the characteristic weave of such a fabric.

adjective

  1. having the structure or appearance of a honeycomb.

verb (used with object)

  1. to cause to be full of holes; pierce with many holes or cavities.

    an old log honeycombed with ant burrows.

  2. to penetrate in all parts.

    a city honeycombed with vice.
honeycomb British  
/ ˈhʌnɪˌkəʊm /

noun

  1. a waxy structure, constructed by bees in a hive, that consists of adjacent hexagonal cells in which honey is stored, eggs are laid, and larvae develop

  2. something resembling this in structure or appearance

  3. zoology another name for reticulum

"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

verb

  1. to pierce or fill with holes, cavities, etc

  2. to permeate

    honeycombed with spies
"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

Etymology

Origin of honeycomb

before 1050; Middle English huny-comb, Old English hunigcamb. See honey, comb

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.

Just as magnetic interactions can be frustrated in certain lattice structures, these dimers can also face restrictions in geometries such as triangular lattices or honeycomb networks.

From Science Daily • Mar. 16, 2026

Would it be bamboo charcoal memory foam, a C-shaped full body or a honeycomb hole?

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026

When Apollo 11 landed on the moon, in a vehicle optimized for precisely that purpose, the legs, designed with a crushable honeycomb interior, were supposed to contract.

From Slate • Dec. 9, 2025

The reef cubes have been designed with a chamber in the middle and a honeycomb texture on the outside to encourage marine life to use them.

From BBC • Oct. 16, 2025

He offers the honeycomb with one hand and shows the whip with the other.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.