hive mind

American  

Or hivemind

noun

1. the property of apparent sentience in a colony of social insects acting as a single organism, each insect performing a specific role for the good of the group.

2. Psychology,

   1. a collective consciousness, analogous to the behavior of social insects, in which a group of people become aware of their commonality and think and act as a community, sharing their knowledge, thoughts, and resources.

      the global hive mind that has emerged with sites like Twitter and Facebook.

   2. such a group mentality characterized by uncritical conformity and loss of a sense of individuality and personal accountability.

---

Etymology

Origin of hive mind

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hive mind

Named Wilbur by the hive mind of social media, the animal blew up online after resident Jamaal Harrison posted a video to TikTok on Saturday showing his futile attempts to catch it on an e-bike.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

The Apple TV show is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which most of humanity has been infected with an alien virus creating a peaceful hive mind, with only 13 outliers immune.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

In the debut season, she’s one of the few remaining humans on Earth who is not part of a particularly cheery hive mind brought on by an alien virus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

As one of a dozen people worldwide immune to a phenomenon called the Joining, which unified billions of people into a blissed-out hive mind, Carol’s well-being becomes everyone else’s mission.

From Salon ● Dec. 29, 2025

Enough to create a hive mind and prank the both of us at once, I thought.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith