yellow jacket

noun

plural yellow jackets

Definition of yellow jacket

1 or yellowjacket \ ˈye-lō-ˌja-kət

, ˈye-lə- \ plural yellowjackets : any of various small vespid wasps (genus Vespula and Dolichovespula) typically with abdomens marked with yellow and black that build nests in the ground or less commonly in aerial locations (such as the eaves of buildings), that usually reach a length of up to .5 inches (1.3 centimeters), and that can sting repeatedly and painfully

2 slang : pentobarbital especially in a yellow capsule —usually used in plural

Examples of yellow jacket in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The girl in the footage wearing a yellow jacket was the one that grabbed Miller's keys and drove off with his 2011 Toyota Sequoia, Miller told WWL-TV. — Katelyn Umholtz, NOLA.com, "Watch: Teenage girls steal man's truck at Fairgrounds gas station before allegedly wrecking it," 7 Dec. 2020 The sting of a yellow jacket, hornet, or wasp is sharp, searing, and hot. — Hannah Hoag, Quartz, "Life-saving wasp venom relies on a shaky supply chain," 16 Nov. 2020 Take care when treating yellow jacket nests yourself. — oregonlive, "How to get rid of aphids on milkweed? Ask an expert," 20 Sep. 2020 Smaller yellow jacket nests can be removed with the following method: Don protective clothing as described above when dealing with wasps. — Ashley Leath, Country Living, "How To Get Rid of Wasps and Yellow Jackets," 29 May 2020 Locally, this type of bee includes the Sphecodes species, a red and black bee shaped more like a wasp; cuckoo leaf cutter bee, part of the Coelioxys species; the genus Nomada, which looks a lot like a yellow jacket; and many more all over the state. — Linnea Covington, The Know, "How to create a bee-friendly garden in Denver to support Colorado’s more than 900 native species," 4 Aug. 2020 What’s the difference between a wasp, hornet, and yellow jacket? — Ashley Leath, Country Living, "How To Get Rid of Wasps and Yellow Jackets," 29 May 2020 President Emmanuel Macron devised it in an attempt to calm the country after the gilets jaunes (yellow jackets) crisis of 2018. — The Economist, "Aux powerpoints, citoyens! France asks its citizens how to meet its climate-change targets," 5 Mar. 2020 One reason was the rise of the gilets jaunes (yellow jacket) protests, which often turned violent and elicited a heavy-handed response. — The Economist, "Brutal facts France admits its police are too violent," 23 Jan. 2020

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

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Last Updated

20 Jan 2021

Cite this Entry

“Yellow jacket.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yellow%20jacket. Accessed 7 Mar. 2021.

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More Definitions for yellow jacket

yellow jacket

noun

English Language Learners Definition of yellow jacket

US : a small flying insect that has yellow marks on its body and that can sting you

See the full definition for yellow jacket in the English Language Learners Dictionary

yellow jacket

noun

Kids Definition of yellow jacket

: a small wasp with yellow markings that usually nests in colonies in the ground and can sting repeatedly and painfully

yellow jacket

noun

Medical Definition of yellow jacket

1 or yellowjacket \ ˈyel-ō-ˌjak-ət

\ : any of various small, social wasps (genus Vespula and Dolichovespula of the family Vespidae) typically with abdomens marked with yellow and black that build nests in the ground or less commonly in aerial locations (as the eaves of buildings), that aggressively defend their nests, and that can sting repeatedly and painfully

2 slang : pentobarbital especially in a yellow capsule —usually used in plural