social wasp
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of social wasp
First recorded in 1825–35
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.
No amount of explaining wasps’ role in the order of things or the ecological services they provide will make anyone want the nest of a social wasp along a walkway, under the porch eaves or in any high-traffic area.
From Seattle Times
Like any other social wasp, they will defend their nest if the colony is disrupted.
From Washington Post
Social wasp nests are constructed from wood fibres collected and then mixed with water by industrious wasp workers to make a kind of papier maché capable of producing very strong and long-lasting structures.
From BBC
Polybia paulista is an aggressive social wasp endemic in south-east Brazil.
From BBC
One day last September the writer picked up a nest of the common social wasp, Polistes, which had been detached from its support, and placed it upon his desk.
From Project Gutenberg
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.
