bee

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.
Phrases and idioms:
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

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bee — (b[=e]), n. [AS. be[ o]; akin to D. bij and bije, Icel. b[=y], Sw. & Dan. bi, OHG. pini, G. biene, and perh. Ir. beach, Lith. bitis, Skr. bha. [root]97.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) An insect of the order {Hymenoptera}, and family {Apid[ae]} (the honeybees),… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bée — [ be ] adj. f. et n. f. • XIIe ; de béer 1 ♦ Adj. f. BOUCHE BÉE : la bouche ouverte d admiration, d étonnement, de stupeur. ⇒ béant. J en suis bouche bée. ⇒ 1. baba. « Je restais là, bras ballants et bouche bée » (France). Loc. Être bouche bée… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • bee — [bi:] n [: Old English; Origin: beo] 1.) a black and yellow flying insect that makes ↑honey and can sting you ▪ a swarm of bees ▪ a bee sting 2.) have a bee in your bonnet (about sth) informal to think something is so important, so necessary etc… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • bée — 1. (bée) adj. f. Tonneaux, futailles à gueule bée, tonneaux, futailles défoncées d un côté. ÉTYMOLOGIE    Participe passé du verbe béer ou bayer (voy. bayer). SUPPLÉMENT AU DICTIONNAIRE 1. BÉE. Ajoutez : Voy. gueule, n° 4. bée 2. (bée) s. f …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • bee — ► NOUN 1) a stinging winged insect which collects nectar and pollen from flowers and produces wax and honey. 2) a meeting for communal work or amusement: a sewing bee. ● the bee s knees Cf. ↑the bee s knees ● have a bee in one s bonnet Cf. ↑ …   English terms dictionary

  • Bee — Bèe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • bee — stinging insect, O.E. beo bee, from P.Gmc. *bion (Cf. O.N. by, O.H.G. bia, M.Du. bie), possibly from PIE root *bhi quiver. Used metaphorically for busy worker since 1530s. Sense of meeting of neighbors to unite their labor for the benefit of one… …   Etymology dictionary

  • bee — [n1] honey making, stinging insect bumblebee, drone, honey bee, killer bee, queen bee; concept 398 bee [n2] collective task communal gathering, harvest, party, social, work party; concept 362 …   New thesaurus

  • bee — bee1 [bē] n. [ME < OE beo < IE base * bhei > Ger biene, OPrus bitte, OIr bech] any of a large superfamily (Apoidea) of broad bodied, four winged, hairy hymenopteran insects that gather pollen and nectar, have biting as well as sucking… …   English World dictionary

  • Bee W — (Сан Пауло,Бразилия) Категория отеля: Адрес: Rua Haddock Lobo, 167, Консоласау, Сан Пауло, CE …   Каталог отелей

  • BEE — (Heb. דְּבוֹרָה). Beekeeping was practiced early in the Mediterranean region. However, there is no reference to it in the Bible where the bee is mentioned only four times and only once in connection with honey (Judg. 14:9). References to bees… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

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