hornet
Americannoun
noun
-
any of various large social wasps of the family Vespidae, esp Vespa crabro of Europe, that can inflict a severe sting
-
a strongly unfavourable reaction (often in the phrase stir up a hornet's nest )
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
Explanation
A hornet is a flying, buzzing insect with a painful sting. Much larger than bees, hornets look very similar to yellow jackets. Etymologists suspect that hornet comes from an imitative root word (one that resembled a hornet's buzz) combined with horn, from the insect's horn-like stinger. This large wasp builds papery nests and lives in social groups like bees, with dominant queens. Hornets only sting if they're provoked — or if they think their nests are being threatened. Some people are dangerously allergic to their venom, and even without an allergy, you won't enjoy being stung by a hornet.
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.
This suggests that the frogs in the study may have developed a dual resistance to both the painful and harmful effects of hornet venom, allowing them to successfully hunt and consume hornet workers.
From Science Daily • Dec. 4, 2025
A hornet sting can trigger sharp pain, tissue damage, and serious systemic problems such as the destruction of red blood cells and cardiac dysfunction, any of which can be fatal.
From Science Daily • Dec. 4, 2025
In England, bee inspectors have been playing their part in the fight against the Asian hornet.
From BBC • Oct. 18, 2025
Let’s return to one of our original questions: Why don’t our institutions, with the exception of the hornet eradication apparatus, work?
From Slate • Dec. 19, 2024
Another hornet buzzed into my ear and it felt like someone had poured hot wax right down into my brain.
From "Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher Paul Curtis
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.
