plural beehives
1
: hive sense 1
In the spring, two young grizzly bears, just out of a winter's sleep, … knocked over a half-dozen commercial beehives and fed on the honey and larvae within.—
Jim Robbins
Jim Robbins2
: something resembling a hive for bees: such as
a
: a scene of crowded activity
… a beehive of growling trucks, riverboats laden with supplies, helicopters and airplanes buzzing overhead …—National Geographic
National Geographic
b
: a woman's hairstyle that is conical in shape
She is about sixty-five with hair white as spun sugar, piled up in a beehive hairdo that has been out of style for twenty years.—W. P. Kinsella
W. P. Kinsella
beehive
adjective
Examples of beehive in a Sentence
The office was a beehive of activity.
wearing her hair in a beehive
Recent Examples on the Web
Source: The Guardian Beehive fences are protecting elephants and boosting farmers’ income
To prevent human-elephant conflict, conservationists are using fences of live beehives strung between posts to deter elephants, which are afraid of being stung.
—Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Feb. 2025
In 1712, the mathematician Samuel König studied the complex honeycomb structure of a beehive.
—Sigal Samuel, Vox, 6 Jan. 2025
The students meet a day a week for lessons in a tiny underground classroom that teachers call the beehive, for the buzzing of all the children packed inside.
—Maria Varenikova, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2025
If not on a set or stage, he’d likely be holed up at home, tinkering with his beehives or homemade solar heater.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for beehive
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Feb. 2025
In 1712, the mathematician Samuel König studied the complex honeycomb structure of a beehive.
—Sigal Samuel, Vox, 6 Jan. 2025
The students meet a day a week for lessons in a tiny underground classroom that teachers call the beehive, for the buzzing of all the children packed inside.
—Maria Varenikova, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2025
If not on a set or stage, he’d likely be holed up at home, tinkering with his beehives or homemade solar heater.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for beehive
Cite this Entry
“Beehive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beehive. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share