bee

¹

[ bee ]

noun

1. any hymenopterous insect of the superfamily Apoidea, including social and solitary species of several families, as the bumblebee, honeybee, 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.

bee

²

[ bee ]

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.

B.E.E.

³

abbreviation for

1. Bachelor of Electrical Engineering.

BEE

¹

abbreviation for

1. Black Economic Empowerment: a government policy aimed at encouraging and supporting shareholding by black people

bee

²

/ 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 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

bee

³

/ 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

bee

⁴

/ 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

Other Words From

• beelike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bee¹

First recorded 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, Old Prussian bitte, Old Church Slavonic bĭchela, Old Irish bech; the unattested bhi- is a North European stem with the same distribution as wax ¹, apple; put the bee on is probably an allusion to sting in sense “dupe, cheat”

Origin of bee²

First recorded before 1050; Middle English bei, be, bih “ring,” Old English bēag, bēah, bēg; cognate with Old Frisian bāg, Old Saxon, Middle Low German bōg, Old High German boug, Old Norse baugr, Sanskrit bhoga-; akin to bow ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of bee¹

Old English bīo ; related to Old Norse bӯ , Old High German bīa , Dutch bij , Swedish bi

Origin of bee²

Old English bēag ; related to Old High German boug ring, Old Norse bogi a bow

Origin of bee³

C18: perhaps from dialect bean neighbourly help, from Old English bēn boon

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. 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.

2. put the bee on, Informal: Older Use. to try to obtain money from, as for a loan or donation:

   My brother just put the bee on me for another $10.

3. 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.

More idioms and phrases containing bee

In addition to the idiom beginning with bee , also see birds and the bees ; busy as a beaver (bee) ; make a beeline for ; none of one's business (beeswax) .

Example Sentences

Thus began Anolik’s trip back into Babitz’s past via a large cache of correspondence that revealed, among other things, her sometimes convivial, often fraught relationship with Joan Didion when the writer, who was nine years older, was the queen bee of L.A.’s lit scene and a key figure in Babitz’s creative life.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s an origin tale that Palmer, 31, has referenced often over her two-decade career — one that began with her breakout role as a precocious spelling bee champion in 2006’s “Akeelah and the Bee” and was revitalized with her critically acclaimed turn in Jordan Peele’s 2022 horror film “Nope.”

From Los Angeles Times

Subscribers are expressing solidarity online by sharing screenshots of their now-broken Wordle/Spelling Bee/crossword streaks, following a guild request for users to boycott the NYT Games app.

From Slate

In August, Newsom backed away from an earlier plan he had to lower the infrastructure interest rate after criticism from the big utilities and electrical workers’ union, according to a report by the Sacramento Bee.

From Los Angeles Times

The mayor made the announcement as part of a local fare restructure, which forms part of an ongoing plan to bring all of Greater Manchester's buses back under public control under the Bee Network branding.

From BBC