hive

[ hahyv ]

noun

1. a shelter constructed for housing a colony of honeybees; beehive.
2. the colony of bees inhabiting a hive.
3. something resembling a beehive in structure or use.
4. a place swarming with busy occupants:

   a hive of industry.

   Synonyms: center, hub

5. a swarming or teeming multitude.

verb (used with object)

, hived, hiv·ing.

1. to gather into or cause to enter a hive.
2. to shelter as in a hive.
3. to store up in a hive.
4. to store or lay away for future use or enjoyment.

verb (used without object)

, hived, hiv·ing.

1. (of bees) to enter a hive.
2. to live together in or as in a hive.

verb phrase

1. British. to become transferred from the main body of a commercial or industrial enterprise through the agency of new ownership.

hive

/ haɪv /

noun

1. a structure in which social bees live and rear their young
2. a colony of social bees
3. a place showing signs of great industry (esp in the phrase a hive of activity )
4. a teeming crowd; multitude
5. an object in the form of a hive

verb

1. to cause (bees) to collect or (of bees) to collect inside a hive
2. to live or cause to live in or as if in a hive
3. tr (of bees) to store (honey, pollen, etc) in the hive
4. tr; often foll by up or away to store, esp for future use

   he used to hive away a small sum every week

Derived Forms

• ˈhiveˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• hiveless adjective
• hivelike adjective
• hiver noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hive¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English hȳf; akin to Old Norse hūfr “ship's hull,” Latin cūpa “vat”

Word History and Origins

Origin of hive¹

Old English hӯf; related to Westphalian hüwe, Old Norse hūfr ship's hull, Latin cūpa barrel, Greek kupē, Sanskrit kūpa cave

Example Sentences

Not just the bees’ wings and bodies but also the structure of their hive.

From Nautilus

A hatched queen might wander around the hive tooting for several days.

From Science News For Students

Bencsik and his team didn’t see this happening because they were tracking the bees from outside the hive.

From Science News For Students

The researchers pressed vibration detectors into the beeswax of one frame from each hive.

From Science News For Students

This happens when worker bees abandon their hive, eventually causing the hive to die.

From Science News For Students

The drones, as it were, had to rest at their stations, constantly maintaining the hive for the greater good.

From The Daily Beast

When Ali Salameh arrived at Black September headquarters in Beirut, he found a hive of furious activity.

From The Daily Beast

Since the mid-19th century, Sicily has been known as a hive of Mafioso activity.

From The Daily Beast

This conservative, evangelical megachurch, just outside San Diego, is a hive of activity on a Sunday morning.

From The Daily Beast

Burt called on his beekeeper pal, who scooped up the bees from the fencepost with his bare hands, and dumped them into a hive.

From The Daily Beast

Hunis versified the whole book of Genesis, calling it a hive full of honey.

From Project Gutenberg

The hive bee, the most communal in habit, shows the highest traits of intelligent activity.

From Project Gutenberg

Within that time, a redness and swelling, like a hive or a bite, will appear at some of the scratches.

From Project Gutenberg

I felt so ornery and low down and mean that I says to myself, my mind's made up; I'll hive that money for them or bust.

From Project Gutenberg

We turned out from the penny-reading like bees from a hive, openly wondering what could have become of Mr. Lake.

From Project Gutenberg