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beehive

[bee-hahyv] /ˈbiˌhaɪv/
noun
1.
a habitation or dwelling-place constructed for bees, usually either dome-shaped or box-shaped.
2.
a natural habitation of bees, as a hollowed-out tree.
3.
a crowded, busy place.
4.
something resembling an artificial beehive in appearance, as a hut or hairdo.
5.
Also called beehive oven. an oven for converting coal into coke, characterized by its dome-shaped roof.
Origin of beehive
1325-1375
Middle English word dating back to 1325-75; See origin at bee1, hive
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.
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Examples from the Web for beehive
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples
  • And he would have died of want, I suspect, rather than have written 'Rasselas' for the 'beehive'!

    My Novel, Complete Edward Bulwer-Lytton
  • Honey is sometimes extracted from the honeycomb and the comb replaced in the beehive.

    Orthography Elmer W. Cavins
  • At other times she can melt and be generous; in her beehive she is not only the congregation of workers, but also the queen.

    Soliloquies in England George Santayana
  • Not only poverty, but sin-in-rags, was sure of help in the beehive.

  • As the reader will expect, no trace of Burley could Leonard find: the humourist had ceased to communicate with the "beehive."

    My Novel, Complete Edward Bulwer-Lytton
British Dictionary definitions for beehive

beehive

/ˈbiːˌhaɪv/
noun
1.
a man-made receptacle used to house a swarm of bees
2.
a dome-shaped hair style in which the hair is piled high on the head
3.
a place where busy people are assembled

Beehive

/ˈbiːˌhaɪv/
noun (informal) the Beehive
1.
the dome-shaped building that houses sections of Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand
2.
the New Zealand government
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word Origin and History for beehive
n.

early 14c., from bee + hive (n.). As the name of a hairstyle, attested from 1960 (the style itself said to be popular from 1958). As the name of a star cluster in the constellation Cancer, from 1840 (see Praesepe).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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