giant hornet
noun
plural giant hornets
1
: european hornet
European hornets, also called giant hornets, can damage plants by stripping bark to build their paper nests.—
Forsyth County News (Cumming, Georgia)
Forsyth County News (Cumming, Georgia)2
: northern giant hornet
The giant hornet extends about 3.5 to 3.9 centimeters in length (1.4 to 1.5 inches), roughly the size of a human thumb, and it has a black tooth used for burrowing, according to an animal database at the University of Michigan. The queens are even bigger, with bodies that can grow longer than 5 centimeters (2 inches).—Madison Park et al.
Madison Park et al.Examples of giant hornet in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Neither northern nor southern giant hornets have been found in Europe beyond the four documented in Spain.
—Randi Richardson, NBC News, 5 Dec. 2024
Georgia and South Carolina are fending off the invasion of the yellow-legged hornet, a smaller relative of the giant hornet that also makes quick work of local pollinators.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Dec. 2024
These giant hornets can be very deadly to humans, and can also wreak enormous damage to honeybee hives.
—Paul Hsieh, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
Sven Spichiger, Washington State Department of Agriculture managing entomologist, displays a canister of Asian giant hornets vacuumed from a nest in a tree behind him on Oct. 24, 2020, in Blaine, Washington.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2024
Moreover, giant hornets are known for their grisly methods for bee murder—unfortunate beekeepers have found their hives filled with bee carcasses, the heads ripped from their bodies.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Dec. 2024
The hornets, typically 2 inches (5 cm) long, were first called Asian giant hornets, the Associated Press reports, citing the National Institutes of Health.
—Charna Flam, People.com, 19 Dec. 2024
The hornets, previously called Asian giant hornets, first showed up in British Columbia in August 2019, then in Washington state in December 2019.
—Melissa Santos, Axios, 18 Dec. 2024
The organization also adopted the names Southern giant hornet as the name for a closely related species.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2024
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Randi Richardson, NBC News, 5 Dec. 2024
Georgia and South Carolina are fending off the invasion of the yellow-legged hornet, a smaller relative of the giant hornet that also makes quick work of local pollinators.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Dec. 2024
These giant hornets can be very deadly to humans, and can also wreak enormous damage to honeybee hives.
—Paul Hsieh, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
Sven Spichiger, Washington State Department of Agriculture managing entomologist, displays a canister of Asian giant hornets vacuumed from a nest in a tree behind him on Oct. 24, 2020, in Blaine, Washington.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2024
Moreover, giant hornets are known for their grisly methods for bee murder—unfortunate beekeepers have found their hives filled with bee carcasses, the heads ripped from their bodies.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Dec. 2024
The hornets, typically 2 inches (5 cm) long, were first called Asian giant hornets, the Associated Press reports, citing the National Institutes of Health.
—Charna Flam, People.com, 19 Dec. 2024
The hornets, previously called Asian giant hornets, first showed up in British Columbia in August 2019, then in Washington state in December 2019.
—Melissa Santos, Axios, 18 Dec. 2024
The organization also adopted the names Southern giant hornet as the name for a closely related species.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Giant hornet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/giant%20hornet. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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