bee

• POS: Noun

CIDE DICTIONARY

bee, p. p. 

 p. p. of Be; -- used for been.  Spenser.  [1913 Webster]

bee, n. [AS. beó; akin to D. bij and bije, Icel. b, Sw. & Dan. bi, OHG. pini, G. biene, and perh. Ir. beach, Lith. bitis, Skr. bha.

•  An insect of the order Hymenoptera, and family Apidæ (the honeybees), or family Andrenidæ (the solitary bees.) See Honeybee.  [1913 Webster]

  " There are many genera and species. The common honeybee (Apis mellifica) lives in swarms, each of which has its own queen, its males or drones, and its very numerous workers, which are barren females. Besides the Apis mellifica there are other species and varieties of honeybees, as the Apis ligustica of Spain and Italy; the Apis Indica of India; the Apis fasciata of Egypt. The bumblebee is a species of Bombus. The tropical honeybees belong mostly to Melipoma and Trigona."  [1913 Webster]
•  A neighborly gathering of people who engage in united labor for the benefit of an individual or family; as, a quilting bee; a husking bee; a raising bee.  [1913 Webster]

  "The cellar . . . was dug by a bee in a single day."  [1913 Webster]
•  Pieces of hard wood bolted to the sides of the bowsprit, to reeve the fore-topmast stays through; -- called also bee blocks.  [1913 Webster]

Bee beetle (Zoöl.), a beetle (Trichodes apiarius) parasitic in beehives. -- Bee bird (Zoöl.), a bird that eats the honeybee, as the European flycatcher, and the American kingbird. -- Bee flower (Bot.), an orchidaceous plant of the genus Ophrys (Ophrys apifera), whose flowers have some resemblance to bees, flies, and other insects. -- Bee fly (Zoöl.), a two winged fly of the family Bombyliidæ. Some species, in the larval state, are parasitic upon bees. -- Bee garden, a garden or inclosure to set beehives in ; an apiary. Mortimer. -- Bee glue, a soft, unctuous matter, with which bees cement the combs to the hives, and close up the cells; -- called also propolis. -- Bee hawk (Zoöl.), the honey buzzard. -- Bee killer (Zoöl.), a large two-winged fly of the family Asilidæ (esp. Trupanea apivora) which feeds upon the honeybee. See Robber fly. -- Bee louse (Zoöl.), a minute, wingless, dipterous insect (Braula cæca) parasitic on hive bees. -- Bee martin (Zoöl.), the kingbird (Tyrannus Carolinensis) which occasionally feeds on bees. -- Bee moth (Zoöl.), a moth (Galleria cereana) whose larvæ feed on honeycomb, occasioning great damage in beehives. -- Bee wolf (Zoöl.), the larva of the bee beetle. See Illust. of Bee beetle. -- To have a bee in the head or To have a bee in the bonnet. (a) To be choleric. [Obs.] (b) To be restless or uneasy. B. Jonson. (c) To be full of fancies; to be a little crazy. “She's whiles crack-brained, and has a bee in her head.” Sir W. Scott.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

bee, n.
1 any four-winged insect of the superfamily Apoidea which collects nectar and pollen, produces wax and honey, and lives in large communities.
2 any insect of a similar type.
3 (usu. busy bee) a busy person.
4 esp. US a meeting for communal work or amusement.

Idiom

bee-bread honey or pollen used as food by bees. bee dance a dance performed by worker bees to inform the colony of the location of food. bee-eater any bright-plumaged insect-eating bird of the family Meropidae with a long slender curved bill. a bee in one's bonnet an obsession. bee-keeper a keeper of bees. bee-keeping the occupation of keeping bees. bee-master a bee-keeper. bee orchid a kind of European orchid, Ophrys apifera, with bee-shaped flowers. the bee's knees sl. something outstandingly good (thinks he's the bee's knees).

Etymology

OE beo f. Gmc

THESAURUS

bee

boutade, bumblebee, conceit, cornhusking, crotchet, drone, fancy, freak, honeybee, hornet, humor, husking, idea, impulse, megrim, queen, queen bee, quilting bee, raising bee, vagary, wasp, whim, worker, yellow jacket

ROGET THESAURUS

bee

Agent

N doer, actor, agent, performer, perpetrator, operator, executor, executrix, practitioner, worker, stager, bee, ant, working bee, termite, white ant, laboring oar, servant of all work, factotum, workman, artisan, craftsman, handicraftsman, mechanic, operative, working man, laboring man, demiurgus, hewers of wood and drawers of water, laborer, navvy, hand, man, day laborer, journeyman, charwoman, hack, mere tool, beast of burden, drudge, fag, lumper, roustabout, maker, artificer, artist, wright, manufacturer, architect, builder, mason, bricklayer, smith, forger, Vulcan, carpenter, ganger, platelayer, blacksmith, locksmith, sailmaker, wheelwright, machinist, mechanician, engineer, sempstress, semstress, seamstress, needlewoman, workwoman, tailor, cordwainer, minister, servant, representative, coworker, party to, participator in, particeps criminis, dramatis personae, personnel, quorum pars magna fui, faber est quisque fortunae suae.

Sociality

N sociality, sociability, sociableness, social intercourse, consociation, intercourse, intercommunity, consortship, companionship, comradeship, clubbism, esprit de corps, conviviality, good fellowship, good company, joviality, jollity, savoir vivre, festivity, festive board, merrymaking, loving cup, hospitality, heartiness, cheer, welcome, welcomeness, greeting, hearty welcome, hearty reception, warm reception, urbanity, familiarity, good fellow, jolly fellow, bon enfant, bawcock, social circle, family circle, circle of acquaintance, coterie, society, company, social gathering, social reunion, assembly, barbecue, bee, corn-husking, corn-shucking, house raising, barn raising, husking, husking-bee, infare, party, entertainment, reception, levee, at, home, conversazione, soiree, matin_ee, evening party, morning party, afternoon party, bridge party, garden party, surprise party, kettle, kettle drum, partie carr_ee, dish of tea, ridotto, rout, housewarming, ball, festival, smoker, smoker-party, sociable, stag party, hen party, tamasha, tea-party, tea-fight, (amusement), the feast of reason and the flow of soul, birthday party, Christmas party, New Year's Eve party, Thanksgiving Day Dinner, bonenkai, wedding reception, visiting, round of visits, call, morning call, interview, assignation, tryst, trysting place, appointment, club, sociable, companionable, clubbable, conversable, cosy, cosey, chatty, conversational, homiletical, convivial, festive, festal, jovial, jolly, hospitable, welcome, welcome as the roses in May, f=eted, entertained, free and easy, hall fellow well met, familiar, on visiting terms, acquainted, social, neighborly, international, gregarious, en famille, in the family circle, sans fa, arm in arm, a crowd is not company, be bright and jovial among your guests tonight, his worth is warrant for his welcome, let's be red with mirth, welcome the coming speed the parting guest.

Animal

N animal, animal kingdom, fauna, brute creation, beast, brute, creature, critter, wight, created being, creeping thing, living thing, dumb animal, dumb creature, zoophyte, mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, crustacean, shellfish, mollusk, worm, insect, arthropod, microbe, microbe, animalcule, alligator, crocodile, saurian, dinosaur (extinct), snake, serpent, viper, eft, asp, aspick, frog, toad, trout, bass, tuna, muskelunge, sailfish, sardine, mackerel, ant, mosquito, bee, honeybee, tardigrade, spider, biped, quadruped, webfoot, flocks and herds, live stock, domestic animals, wild animals, game, ferae naturae, beasts of the field, fowls of the air, denizens of the sea, black game, black grouse, blackcock, duck, grouse, plover, rail, snipe, horse, cattle, kine, ox, bull, bullock, cow, milch cow, calf, heifer, shorthorn, sheep, lamb, lambkin, ewe, ram, tup, pig, swine, boar, hog, sow, steer, stot, tag, teg, bison, buffalo, yak, zebu, dog, cat, dog, hound, pup, puppy, whelp, cur, mongrel, house dog, watch dog, sheep dog, shepherd's dog, sporting dog, fancy dog, lap dog, toy dog, bull dog, badger dog, mastiff, blood hound, grey hound, stag hound, deer hound, fox hound, otter hound, harrier, beagle, spaniel, pointer, setter, retriever, Newfoundland, water dog, water spaniel, pug, poodle, turnspit, terrier, fox terrier, Skye terrier, Dandie Dinmont, collie, feline, puss, pussy, grimalkin, gib cat, tom cat, fox, Reynard, vixen, stag, deer, hart, buck, doe, roe, caribou, coyote, elk, moose, musk ox, sambar, bird, poultry, fowl, cock, hen, chicken, chanticleer, partlet, rooster, dunghill cock, barn door fowl, feathered tribes, feathered songster, singing bird, dicky bird, canary, warbler, finch, aberdevine, cushat, cygnet, ringdove, siskin, swan, wood pigeon, vermin, varmint, pest, animal, zoological equine, bovine, vaccine, canine, feline, fishy, piscatory, piscatorial, molluscous, vermicular, gallinaceous, rasorial, solidungulate, soliped.

Sibilation

N sibilance, sibilation, zip, hiss, sternutation, high note, goose, serpent, snake (animal sounds), insect, bug, bee, mosquito, wasp, fly, tea kettle, pressure cooker, air valve, pressure release valve, safety valve, tires, air escaping from tires, punctured tire, escaping steam, steam, steam radiator, steam release valve, sibilant, hissing, wheezy, sternutative.

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