bee

Pluralbees

1. 1
   honey insectnouncountable

   A flying insect known for its organized societies, though only a minority of species have them, for collecting pollen, and, in some species, for producing wax and honey.

   The bee gathered nectar from the lavender along the fence.

   Wild bees often nest in hollow logs rather than in hives.

   UsageSet phrases: as busy as a bee, a bee sting; bees buzz and sting.

   Note

   Zoologists draw the line precisely, at the clade Anthophila within the superfamily Apoidea, and most of its members live alone rather than in hives. In 1590 Spenser could set "An angry Waspe" beside "an hony-lady Bee," a distinction that the loose "any stinger" use blurs. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Bees constitute the clade Anthophila within Apoidea. en.wikipedia.org
   • Most bee species are solitary. en.wikipedia.org
   • The relevant part of The Faerie Queene was first published in 1590. talus.artsci.wustl.edu
2. 2
   spelling contestnouncountable

   A contest in which participants compete, especially at spelling.

   He misspelled 'rhythm' in the final round of the county bee.

   The national geography bee drew contestants from every state.

   UsageNamed by its subject: spelling bee, geography bee; once that is clear, just the bee.

   Similarcontest, competition

   Note

   A contest that takes its name from a work party, and possibly not from the insect at all. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The contest sense of bee derives from its use for a communal work party. en.wikipedia.org
   • The word for the gathering and contest may have an origin separate from the insect name. spellingbee.com
3. 3
   work gatheringnouncountable

   A social gathering at which members of a community join together to do a task, such as sewing or quilting.

   Women from three farms gathered for a sewing bee to make clothes for the new baby.

   After the harvest, the village held a husking bee that lasted late into the night.

   UsageNamed by the task: quilting bee, sewing bee, husking bee.

   Note

   Samuel Griswold Goodrich, in his Recollections of a Lifetime, recalls a cellar "dug by a bee in a single day," so the word can also stand for the crowd itself. Tim Blanning applies it to northern Europe's nocturnal spinning gatherings, where women shared light, heat and gossip as they worked. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Samuel Griswold Goodrich’s Recollections of a Lifetime contains the quoted description of a cellar dug by a bee in one day. en.wiktionary.org
   • Tim Blanning describes northern European spinning bees as nocturnal gatherings where women shared gossip, light and heat while working. web.seducoahuila.gob.mx
4. 4
   wasp (loosely)nounnonstandardcountable

   Any winged insect capable of stinging, the wasp being the most usual example.

   Watch out for the bees around the trash cans; those yellow jackets get aggressive in late summer.

   Grandpa calls anything that buzzes and stings a bee, even the wasps under the porch.

   Similarwasp

   Note

   In casual speech, anything that stings gets called a bee, and wasps most of all.

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