BEESWAX

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does beeswax mean? 

• BEESWAX (noun)
  The noun BEESWAX has 1 sense:

1. a yellow to brown wax secreted by honeybees to build honeycombs

  Familiarity information: BEESWAX used as a noun is very rare.

• BEESWAX (verb)
  The verb BEESWAX has 1 sense:

1. cover with beeswax

  Familiarity information: BEESWAX used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BEESWAX (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A yellow to brown wax secreted by honeybees to build honeycombs

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("beeswax" is a kind of...):

animal product (a product made from animal material)

wax (any of various substances of either mineral origin or plant or animal origin; they are solid at normal temperatures and insoluble in water)

Meronyms (substance of "beeswax"):

cerotic acid; hexacosanoic acid (a white solid fatty acid found in waxes (such as beeswax))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "beeswax"):

Ghedda wax (wax from Indian and African bees)

Derivation:

beeswax (cover with beeswax)

• BEESWAX (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cover with beeswax

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

Chris beeswaxed the kitchen table

Hypernyms (to "beeswax" is one way to...):

wax (cover with wax)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

beeswax (a yellow to brown wax secreted by honeybees to build honeycombs)

 Context examples 

With vaseline upon one’s forehead, belladonna in one’s eyes, rouge over the cheek-bones, and crusts of beeswax round one’s lips, a very satisfying effect can be produced.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Arnebia Indigo Jade Pearl topical cream contains 12 ingredients including 9 herbs infused in sesame oil, with an additional three powdered ingredients and beeswax added to the infused oil to create the salve.

(Arnebia Indigo Jade Pearl Topical Cream, NCI Thesaurus)

Plastic is not the natural food of the wax worm, but researchers say that since they lay their eggs in beehives, the hatchlings feed on beeswax.

(Plastic Eating Worm Could Help Ease Pollution, VOA)

Chemical analysis of 10 flints using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry showed that the stone tools had been coated with resin from local pine trees, and in one case, resin had also been mixed with beeswax.

(Neanderthals used resin 'glue' for tools, National Science Foundation)