hornet
Americannoun
-
hornets
plural
noun
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any of various large social wasps of the family Vespidae, esp Vespa crabro of Europe, that can inflict a severe sting
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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.
See Examples For:
The bee team fighting a murderous hornet invasion.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
A new online map has been launched for islanders to report Asian hornet sightings in Jersey.
From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2026
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
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
But to his surprise, Wolf leapt up as if he’d been stung by a hornet.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Asian hornets spread through Europe after arriving in southern France in 2004, having reportedly hitched a ride in a consignment of pottery from Asia.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The hallways lead to more hallways, the overhead fluorescents whine like hornets.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
Curiously, I never really got angry at the North Koreans, on the assumption that if you kick the hornet’s nest and get stung, you can’t really blame the hornets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
A frog with an unexpectedly strong resistance to venom has been identified, and it routinely eats hornets despite the insects' dangerous stingers.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2025
I know all about hornets: If one sends out a distress signal, it can trigger a whole nest attack.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
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