hornet's nest
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of hornet's nest
First recorded in 1730–40
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.
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
The Seahawks are heading into a hornet’s nest Sunday in Detroit.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 11, 2023
They were trying to locate and destroy a hornet's nest after a positive identification nearby.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2023
David Guillemard, a striker who has worked at the Total refinery for 22 years, said the back-to-work order had kicked a hornet’s nest.
From New York Times ● Oct. 14, 2022
Howard Fuller’s use of the phrase Black Power—against this backdrop of contention and violence—stirred a hornet’s nest in both the white and black communities.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
