- 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.
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.
Check pronunciation:
hornet