honeydew
Americannoun
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the sweet material that exudes from the leaves of certain plants in hot weather.
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a sugary material secreted by aphids, leafhoppers, scale insects, psyllids, and other homopterous insects.
noun
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a sugary substance excreted by aphids and similar insects
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a similar substance exuded by certain plants
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short for honeydew melon
Other Word Forms
- honeydewed adjective
Etymology
Origin of honeydew
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.
In 10 to 12 days, adults surface to feast for roughly 90 days on honeydew melon, decaying fruit, plant nectar and bird dung.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2024
Ants will protect aphids in order to feast on the sticky honeydew that they produce.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 29, 2024
It’s honeydew, a sweet substance excreted out of the lanternflies’ anuses as they feed in the canopy above.
From National Geographic • Aug. 31, 2023
If that weren’t enough, the honeydew leads to the growth of sooty mold, a black fungal infection that spreads across the tree’s trunk, branches and leaves, where it can impair photosynthesis.
From Washington Post • Apr. 21, 2023
She even cut up the best fruits: strawberries, honeydew, and pineapple.
From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle
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.
