mason bee

American

noun

any of numerous solitary bees, as of the family Megachilidae, that construct nests of clay.

mason bee British

noun

any bee of the family Megachilidae that builds a hard domelike nest of sand, clay, etc, held together with saliva

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of mason bee

First recorded in 1765–75

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:

mason bee

Others include the adonis blue butterfly, the armed nomad bee and the red-tailed mason bee, the shining pot beetle and the large scabious mining bee.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

A mason bee builds the roof of its nest while memorising landmarks around it so it was able to find the nest again.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2023

The shiny, dark-blue mason bee can be mistaken for a common household fly.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2023

A trellis originally built for grapes now is home to a Purple Hyacinth Bean plant that weaves up and around a neighboring mason bee box, and is grown as an ornamental.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 13, 2018

Since I’ve been here I’ve become everything—carpenter, painter, decorator, gardener, mason, bee expert, poultry-keeper, blacksmith, livery-stables, furniture-remover, house agent, common carrier, bricklayer, dairyman, horse-breaker.

From The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett by MacKenzie, Compton

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023