bee1

[bee] /bi/
noun
1.
any hymenopterous insect of the superfamily Apoidea, including social and solitary species of several families, as the bumblebees, honeybees, etc.
2.
the common honeybee, Apis mellifera.
3.
a community social gathering in order to perform some task, engage in a contest, etc.:
a sewing bee; a spelling bee; a husking bee.
Idioms
4.
have a bee in one's bonnet,
  1. to be obsessed with one idea.
  2. to have eccentric or fanciful ideas or schemes:
    Our aunt obviously has a bee in her bonnet, but we're very fond of her.
5.
put the bee on, Informal. to try to obtain money from, as for a loan or donation:
My brother just put the bee on me for another $10.
6.
the bee's knees, Older Slang. (especially in the 1920s) a person or thing that is wonderful, great, or marvelous:
Her new roadster is simply the bee's knees.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English be(e); Old English bīo, bēo; cognate with Dutch bij, Old Saxon bī, bini, Old High German bīa, bini (German Biene), Old Norse bȳ; with other suffixes, Lithuanian bìtė, OPruss bitte, OCS bĭchela, Old Irish bech; *bhi- is a North European stem with the same distribution as wax1, apple; put the bee on probably an allusion to sting in sense “dupe, cheat”
Related forms
beelike, adjective

bee2

[bee] /bi/
noun
1.
Also called bee block. Nautical. a piece of hardwood, bolted to the side of a bowsprit, through which to reeve stays.
2.
Obsolete. a metal ring or bracelet.
Origin
before 1050; Middle English beh ring, Old English bēag, bēah; cognate with Old Frisian bāg, Old Saxon, Middle Low German bōg, Old High German boug, Old Norse baugr, Sanskrit bhoga-; akin to bow1

B.E.E.

1.
Bachelor of Electrical Engineering.
Examples from the web for bee
  • Drones are the largest bees in the hive at almost three times the size of a worker bee.
  • Birds range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ostrich.
  • The bee hummingbird produces the smallest known bird egg, which weighs half a gram.
  • Other common predators are kingbirds, mockingbirds, bee wolves, and dragonflies.
  • Traditional beehives provided an enclosure for the bee colony but little more was needed.
  • beeswax is a natural wax produced in the bee hive of honey bees of the genus apis.
  • beeville is served by the beeville independent school district and bee county college.
British Dictionary definitions for bee

bee1

/biː/
noun
1.
any hymenopterous insect of the superfamily Apoidea, which includes social forms such as the honeybee and solitary forms such as the carpenter bee See also bumblebee, mason bee related adjective apian
2.
busy bee, a person who is industrious or has many things to do
3.
have a bee in one's bonnet, to be preoccupied or obsessed with an idea
Word Origin
Old English bīo; related to Old Norse bӯ, Old High German bīa, Dutch bij, Swedish bi

bee2

/biː/
noun
1.
a social gathering for a specific purpose, as to carry out a communal task or hold competitions: quilting bee
2.
See spelling bee
Word Origin
C18: perhaps from dialect bean neighbourly help, from Old English bēn boon

bee3

/biː/
noun
1.
(nautical) a small sheave with one cheek removed and the pulley and other cheek fastened flat to a boom or another spar, used for reeving outhauls or stays
Word Origin
Old English bēag; related to Old High German boug ring, Old Norse bogi a bow

BEE

abbreviation (in South Africa)
1.
Black Economic Empowerment: a government policy aimed at encouraging and supporting shareholding by black people
Word Origin and History for bee
n.

stinging insect, Old English beo "bee," from Proto-Germanic *bion (cf. Old Norse by, Old High German bia, Middle Dutch 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 of their number," 1769, American English, probably is from comparison to the social activity of the insect; this was extended to other senses (e.g. spelling bee, first attested 1809; Raising-bee (1814) for building construction; also hanging bee "a lynching"). To have a bee in (one's) bonnet (1825), said of one who is harebrained or has an intense new notion or fancy, is said in Jamieson to be Scottish, perhaps from earlier expressions such as head full of bees (1510s), denoting mad mental activity.

Slang definitions & phrases for bee

bee 1

noun

BEE IN one's BONNET (mid-1800s+)


bee 2

noun
  1. Enough narcotic to fill a penny matchbox, a unit used in selling drugs; b
  2. An obsession with something
Related Terms

put the bee on someone, put the bite on someone

[1960s+ Narcotics; fr box]


Related Abbreviations for bee

BEE

Bachelor of Electrical Engineering
bee in the Bible

First mentioned in Deut. 1:44. Swarms of bees, and the danger of their attacks, are mentioned in Ps. 118:12. Samson found a "swarm of bees" in the carcass of a lion he had slain (Judg. 14:8). Wild bees are described as laying up honey in woods and in clefts of rocks (Deut. 32:13; Ps. 81:16). In Isa. 7:18 the "fly" and the "bee" are personifications of the Egyptians and Assyrians, the inveterate enemies of Israel.

Idioms and Phrases with bee

bee

In addition to the idiom beginning with
bee
also see: