bumblebee

bum·ble·bee | \ ˈbəm-bəl-ˌbē

How to pronounce bumblebee (audio)

\

variants: or less commonly bumble bee

Definition of bumblebee

: any of numerous large robust hairy social bees (genus Bombus)

Examples of bumblebee in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Concerned residents have sent lots of photos of yellow jackets, bumblebees, Elm sawflies and other yellow and black insects. — David Williams, CNN, "Signs warned of 'murder hornets' at a popular Washington hiking spot. But state officials say the signs are fake," 27 May 2020 There’s no green thumb required to become a citizen scientist; help track North America’s bumblebees by uploading snapshots of sightings to BumbleBeeWatch.org. — National Geographic, "10 ways to get your travel fix from home," 29 Apr. 2020 While tomatoes are technically self-pollinators, with male and female flower parts in each blossom, wind movement or a bumblebee helps pollen move from anther to stigma (the receptive female part). — Margaret Roach, New York Times, "How to Grow a Better Tomato," 12 May 2020 An environmental advocacy group has petitioned the federal government to grant protection to a rare parasitic bumblebee under the Endangered Species Act. — oregonlive, "Environmental group seeks endangered species protection for rare parasitic bumblebee, last seen in Oregon," 24 Apr. 2020 Sunflowers that do provide pollen are a vital source of late-season protein for bumblebees, honey bees, as well as native bees. — oregonlive, "Tiny black ants invading your home? Ask an expert," 11 Apr. 2020 The honeybees and bumblebees are a big topic everywhere. — Joanne Kempinger Demski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "New plants for 2020 put emphasis on attracting butterflies and bees, helping environment," 12 Mar. 2020 The loss of bumblebees can contribute to decreasing biodiversity and potentially impact our food supply, with the bees pollinating plants such as cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, blueberries and melons. — Katie Hunt, CNN, "Pesticides damage the brains of baby bees, new research finds," 3 Mar. 2020 The decline of bumblebee populations could also spell trouble for agriculture. — Li Cohen, CBS News, "Climate change is killing the bumblebees, study says," 6 Feb. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bumblebee.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about bumblebee

Dictionary Entries near bumblebee

bumblebee buzzer

Statistics for bumblebee

Last Updated

2 Jun 2020

Cite this Entry

“Bumblebee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bumblebee. Accessed 2 Jun. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

eolian

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

May 2020 Words of the Day Quiz

Which is a synonym of exiguous?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.