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 )
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.
To investigate whether pond frogs evade or tolerate these potentially lethal stings, Sugiura presented individual adult frogs with workers of three hornet species, Vespa simillima, V. analis, and V. mandarinia, in controlled laboratory trials.
From Science Daily • Dec. 4, 2025
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
He told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme that the insects in Northern Ireland "haven't got the same defences that the natural prey for this hornet would have in southeast Asia".
From BBC • Oct. 18, 2025
Asian hornet nests are often found in hedges or near to the ground.
From BBC • Oct. 18, 2025
Reynie’s throat tightened, and he glanced at Sticky, who looked as if he’d been stung by a hornet.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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.
