Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various large stinging wasps of the family Vespidae, chiefly of the genera Vespa and Vespula, that characteristically build large papery nests.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An insect of the wasp family, of the genus Vespa, much larger and stronger than wasps of other species, and capable of inflicting a more severe and painful sting.
- noun Figuratively, a person who annoys by frequent and persistent petty attacks.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) A large, strong wasp. The European species (
Vespa crabro ) is of a dark brown and yellow color. It is very pugnacious, and its sting is very severe. Its nest is constructed of a paperlike material, and the layers of comb are hung together by columns. The American white-faced hornet (Vespa maculata ) is larger and has similar habits. - noun (Zoöl.) any dipterous insect of the genus Asilus, and allied genera, of which there are numerous species. They are large and fierce flies which capture bees and other insects, often larger than themselves, and suck their blood. Called also
hawk fly ,robber fly . - noun [Colloq.] to provoke the attack of a swarm of spiteful enemies or spirited critics.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A large
wasp , of the genusVespa , with a brown and yellow striped body and capable of inflicting a serious sting.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun large stinging paper wasp
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The American general in charge of NATO today declared the coalition forces in Afghanistan, have stirred up what he called a hornet's nest.
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One of our choppers brought me the other day what he called a hornet's nest; it was certainly too small and delicate a piece of workmanship for so large an insect; and I rather conjecture that it belonged to the beautiful black and gold insect called the wasp-fly, but of this I am not certain.
The Backwoods of Canada Being Letters From The Wife of an Emigrant Officer, Illustrative of the Domestic Economy of British America Catharine Parr Strickland Traill 1850
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I have not had any experiences like the ones above but one thing that makes me madder than a hornet is when I am fishing down a row of docks and another boat cuts right in front of you and starts fishing the dock right in front of you.
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I have not had any experiences like the ones above but one thing that makes me madder than a hornet is when I am fishing down a row of docks and another boat cuts right in front of you and starts fishing the dock right in front of you.
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The 2007 hornet is designed and built in Italy as well, and although it definitely can not reach the absolute powerhouse the streetfighter is, it has more style then a handfull of streetfighters combined. (and ABS!)
Ducati Streetfighter and Streetfighter S get 155bhp 1098 engine - Hell For Leather 2008
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A hornet is 3 times the size and 20 times the weight of a bee.
2006 » December 2006
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A hornet is 3 times the size and 20 times the weight of a bee.
Giant Asian Hornet 2006
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The hornet was the first paper-maker, and holds the original patent.
Birds and Poets : with Other Papers John Burroughs 1879
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The yellow wasp or hornet, that is around in autumn, is of but little account; their object is honey, which they take when they can get it, but are not apt to enter the hive among the bees.
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Don Teague reported Falcon Lake and the surrounding area has been called a hornet's nest of criminal activity for the Zeta drug cartel, a powerful and fierce Mexican gang that's not shy about letting its presence be known.
john commented on the word hornet
“The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to attack both ground and aerial targets. Designed in the 1970s for service with the United States Navy and Marine Corps, the Hornet is also used by the air forces of several other nations.�? More on Wikipedia.
December 30, 2008