honeydew
Americannoun
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the sweet material that exudes from the leaves of certain plants in hot weather.
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a sugary material secreted by aphids, leafhoppers, scale insects, psyllids, and other homopterous insects.
noun
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a sugary substance excreted by aphids and similar insects
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a similar substance exuded by certain plants
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short for honeydew melon
Other Word Forms
- honeydewed adjective
Etymology
Origin of honeydew
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“These invasive insects feed on the sap of grapevines, while also leaving behind a sticky honeydew residue on the clusters and leaves.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2024
It then excretes a sticky, sugary waste called honeydew that attracts insects and a form of sooty mold that can finish off the already weakened plants, posing a danger to crops and native trees.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 28, 2023
It’s honeydew, a sweet substance excreted out of the lanternflies’ anuses as they feed in the canopy above.
From National Geographic • Aug. 31, 2023
If that weren’t enough, the honeydew leads to the growth of sooty mold, a black fungal infection that spreads across the tree’s trunk, branches and leaves, where it can impair photosynthesis.
From Washington Post • Apr. 21, 2023
The adult lacewing feeds mostly on plant nectars and the honeydew of aphids, and in time she lays her eggs, each on the end of a long stalk which she fastens to a leaf.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
