honeycombed

Meanings

1. 1adjectivenot comparablefigurative

   Filled with many small holes or tunnels, like a honeycomb.

   Grammar: Used after 'be' or before a noun; it does not have comparative forms.

   Patterns

   • be honeycombed with something
   • a honeycombed surface

   The old rock was honeycombed with tiny holes.

   The hillside is honeycombed with tunnels left by miners.

   Termites had honeycombed the wooden beams until they were unsafe.

2. 2adjectivenot comparablefigurative

   Full of hidden problems, weaknesses, or gaps.

   Grammar: Often used in the phrase 'be honeycombed with something', especially with words like 'errors' or 'corruption'.

   Patterns

   • be honeycombed with errors
   • be honeycombed with corruption

   The report was honeycombed with mistakes.

   The department was honeycombed with secret deals.

Common combinations

honeycombed with holes

The ceiling was honeycombed with holes after the storm.

honeycombed with tunnels

The cliff is honeycombed with tunnels.

honeycombed with errors

The first draft was honeycombed with errors.

Synonyms and how they differ

porous

Describes a material with many small holes that let liquid or air through; 'honeycombed' suggests a more regular, tunnel-like pattern.

perforated

Means pierced with holes, often in a neat row; it does not suggest the complex network of a honeycomb.

Opposites

Word family

honeycomb noun

The wax structure of six-sided cells made by bees; also used for a pattern of holes.

honeycomb verb

To fill something with holes or tunnels, as in 'the rock was honeycombed by water'.

Commonly confused: honeycombed or honeycombed?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “honeycombed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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