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hornet

Pronunciation: /ˈhɔːnɪt/

Translate hornet | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of hornet

noun

  • a large, fairly docile wasp which is typically red and yellow or red and black and usually nests in hollow trees.
    • Vespa and other genera, family Vespidae: several species, including the European V. crabro

Phrases

a hornets' nest

a situation fraught with difficulties or complications:the move has stirred up a hornets' nest of academic fear and loathing

Origin:

Old English hyrnet, of Germanic origin; related to German Hornisse. The form of the word was probably influenced by Middle Dutch and Middle Low German hornte

hornet in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of hornet in the US English dictionary

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