- a large wasp (= a black and yellow flying insect) that has a very powerful stingTopics Insects, worms, etc.c2Word OriginOld 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.
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Idioms
See hornet in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarya hornets’ nest
- a difficult situation in which a lot of people get very angry
- His letter to the papers stirred up a real hornets' nest.
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hornet