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Synonyms

hornet

American  
[hawr-nit] / ˈhɔr nɪt /

noun

  1. any large, stinging paper wasp of the family Vespidae, as Vespa crabro giant hornet, introduced into the U.S. from Europe, or Vespula maculata bald-faced hornet, or white-faced hornet, of North America.

hornet British  
/ ˈhɔːnɪt /

noun

  1. any of various large social wasps of the family Vespidae, esp Vespa crabro of Europe, that can inflict a severe sting

  2. a strongly unfavourable reaction (often in the phrase stir up a hornet's nest )

"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
hornet Idioms  

  1. see mad as a hornet; stir up a hornet's nest.

Etymology

Origin of hornet

First recorded before 900; Middle English harnete, Old English hyrnet(u); cognate with Old High German hornaz (becoming German Horniss ); akin to horn

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.