bee : Idioms & Phrases

• noun a strain of bees that originated in Brazil in the 1950s as a cross between an aggressive African bee and a honeybee; retains most of the traits of the African bee; now spread as far north as Texas
  Apis mellifera adansonii; Apis mellifera scutellata; Africanized bee; Africanized honey bee.
  

WordNet

• noun a strain of bees that originated in Brazil in the 1950s as a cross between an aggressive African bee and a honeybee; retains most of the traits of the African bee; now spread as far north as Texas
  Apis mellifera adansonii; Apis mellifera scutellata; Africanized bee; Africanized honey bee.
  

WordNet

• noun a common solitary bee important for pollinating alfalfa in the western United States
  Nomia melanderi.
  

WordNet

• noun perennial herb of North America
  Monarda fistulosa; beebalm.
  
• noun perennial aromatic herb of eastern North America having variously colored tubular flowers in dense showy heads
  Monarda didyma; beebalm; oswego tea; bergamot mint.
  
• noun bushy perennial Old World mint having small white or yellowish flowers and fragrant lemon-flavored leaves; a garden escapee in northern Europe and North America
  sweet balm; lemon balm; garden balm; Melissa officinalis; beebalm.
  

WordNet

• noun European beetle; infests beehives
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), a beetle (Trichodes apiarius) parasitic in beehives.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a bird that eats the honeybee, as the European flycatcher, and the American kingbird.

Webster 1913

• noun colorful chiefly tropical Old World bird having a strong graceful flight; feeds on especially bees
  

WordNet

• (Bot.), an orchidaceous plant of the genus Ophrys (O. apifera), whose flowers have some resemblance to bees, flies, and other insects.

Webster 1913

• noun hairy nectar-eating fly that resembles a bee; larvae are parasitic on larvae of bees and related insects
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), a two winged fly of the family Bombyliidæ. Some species, in the larval state, are parasitic upon bees.

Webster 1913

• a garden or inclosure to set beehives in ; an apiary. Mortimer.

Webster 1913

• a soft, unctuous matter, with which bees cement the combs to the hives, and close up the cells; called also propolis.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), the honey buzzard.

Webster 1913

• noun a shed containing a number of beehives
  apiary.
  

WordNet

• noun swift predatory fly having a strong body like a bee with the proboscis hardened for sucking juices of other insects captured on the wing
  robber fly.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), a large two-winged fly of the family Asilidæ (esp. Trupanea apivora) which feeds upon the honeybee. See Robber fly.

Webster 1913

Bee" lark`spur

Definitions

1. (Bot.) See Larkspur.

Webster 1913

Bee" line`

Definitions

1. The shortest line from one place to another, like that of a bee to its hive when loaded with honey; an air line. "A bee line for the brig." Kane.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a minute, wingless, dipterous insect (Braula cæca) parasitic on hive bees.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), the kingbird (Tyrannus Carolinensis) which occasionally feeds on bees.

Webster 1913

• noun moth whose larvae live in and feed on bee honeycombs
  Galleria mellonella; wax moth.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), a moth (Galleria cereana) whose larvæ feed on honeycomb, occasioning great damage in beehives.

Webster 1913

• noun European orchid whose flowers resemble bumble bees in shape and color
  Ophrys apifera.
  

WordNet

• noun a sting inflicted by a bee
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), the larva of the bee beetle. See Illust. of Bee beetle.

Webster 1913

Bee"-eat`er noun

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) (a) A bird of the genus Merops, that feeds on bees. The European species (M. apiaster) is remarkable for its brilliant colors. (b) An African bird of the genus Rhinopomastes.

Webster 1913

• noun dark-colored ill-tempered honeybee supposedly of German origin
  black bee.
  

WordNet

• noun an alert and energetic person
  sharpy; eager beaver; sharpie; live wire.
  

WordNet

• noun greyish highly productive European honeybee that has a quiet disposition
  

WordNet

• noun large solitary bee that lays eggs in tunnels bored into wood or plant stems
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), a large hymenopterous insect of the genus Xylocopa; so called because it constructs its nest by gnawing long galleries in sound timber. The common American species is Xylocopa Virginica.

Webster 1913

• (Zool.), a bee, parasitic in the larval stage in the nests of other bees, feeding either upon their food or larvae. They belong to the genera Nomada, Melecta, Epeolus, and others.

Webster 1913

Dog" bee`

Definitions

1. A male or drone bee. Halliwell.

Webster 1913

Drone" bee`

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) The male of the honeybee; a drone.

Webster 1913

• noun dark-colored ill-tempered honeybee supposedly of German origin
  black bee.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), the honeybee.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a British wild bee (Osmia bicornis), having two little horns on the head.

Webster 1913

• noun a social gathering for the purpose of husking corn
  cornhusking.
  

WordNet

• noun yellowish honeybee resembling the Carniolan bee in its habits
  

WordNet

• noun an investment banker who devises strategies to make a target company less attractive for takeover
  
• noun a strain of bees that originated in Brazil in the 1950s as a cross between an aggressive African bee and a honeybee; retains most of the traits of the African bee; now spread as far north as Texas
  Apis mellifera adansonii; Apis mellifera scutellata; Africanized bee; Africanized honey bee.
  

WordNet

• noun bee that cuts rounded pieces from leaves and flowers to line its nest
  leaf-cutter bee; leaf-cutter.
  

WordNet

• noun bee that cuts rounded pieces from leaves and flowers to line its nest
  leaf-cutter bee; leaf-cutter.
  

WordNet

• noun any of numerous solitary bees that build nests of hardened mud and sand
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of solitary bees of the genus Osmia. They construct curious nests of hardened mud and sand.

Webster 1913

• noun a bee that is a member of the genus Andrena
  andrena; andrenid.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), a leaf-cutting bee (Anthocopa papaveris) which uses pieces cut from poppy petals for the lining of its cells; called also upholsterer bee.

Webster 1913

• noun solitary bee that builds nests of mud or pebbles cemented together and attached to a plant
  

WordNet

• noun fertile egg-laying female bee
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), a female bee, especially the female of the honeybee. See Honeybee. the fully developed female in a colony of bees, ants, or termites which lays eggs. Usually there is only one in a colony; the queen is often somewhat larger than other bees, and is specially fed to develop her egg-laying capacity. (b) (Fig.) A woman who feels and acts as though she is of special importance. Usu. pejorative.

Webster 1913

• noun a gathering to make quilts
  

WordNet

• a bee for raising the frame of a building. See Bee, n., 2. U.S. W. Irving.

Webster 1913

• noun plant of western North America having trifoliate leaves and white or pink spider-shaped flowers; sometimes used as an ornamental
  stinking clover; Cleome serrulata.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), a dung beetle.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), any species of bee which does not form communities.

Webster 1913

• noun a contest in which you are eliminated if you fail to spell a word correctly
  spelling contest; spelldown.
  

WordNet

• a spelling match. U.S.

Webster 1913

• . See under Bee.

Webster 1913

• . (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.

Webster 1913

• . (Zoöl.) See Poppy bee, under Poppy.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of undomesticated social bees, especially the domestic bee when it has escaped from domestication and built its nest in a hollow tree or among rocks.

Webster 1913

• noun sterile bee specialized to collect food and maintain the hive
  

WordNet