Meaning & use
bee
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Meanings
nouncountable
A flying insect with a striped body that collects nectar and pollen and can produce honey and wax.
Grammar: Countable: a bee, two bees. Use 'a' or 'the' before it.
Patterns
- a bee stings someone
- bees pollinate something
- a swarm of bees
A bee landed on the flower and began collecting nectar.
Bees are important because they pollinate many crops.
He was stung by a bee while walking barefoot in the garden.
nouncountableAmerican
A social event where people meet to work together on a task or to compete in a skill.
Grammar: Countable; usually used in compounds like 'spelling bee' or 'quilting bee'.
Patterns
- a spelling bee
- a quilting bee
- hold a bee
She won the school spelling bee by correctly spelling 'rhythm'.
The community held a quilting bee to make blankets for charity.
He practiced for weeks before the math bee.
Word forms
| plural | bees |
|---|
Common combinations
- bee sting
- He put ice on the bee sting to reduce the swelling.
- bee hive
- The beekeeper checked the bee hive for honey.
- queen bee
- The queen bee lays all the eggs in the colony.
- busy as a bee
- She's been as busy as a bee preparing for the party.
Synonyms and how they differ
- honeybee
- Specifically the bee species that makes honey; 'bee' is the broader term for all kinds.
- bumblebee
- A large, fuzzy bee that is usually rounder and slower than a honeybee.
Word family
Commonly confused: bee or be?
bee vs be
Pronounced the same but a verb meaning 'to exist' or 'to equal'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'bee' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Only option 0 uses 'bee' as the insect noun. Options 1 and 3 confuse it with the verb 'be', and option 2 uses 'bee' where 'member' is needed.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bee”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.