HORNETS' NEST

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does hornets' nest mean? 

• HORNETS' NEST (noun)
  The noun HORNETS' NEST has 2 senses:

1. a highly contentious or hazardous situation

2. habitation for wasps or hornets

  Familiarity information: HORNETS' NEST used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HORNETS' NEST (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A highly contentious or hazardous situation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

hornet's nest; hornets' nest

Context example:

talk of invading Iraq stirred up a political hornets' nest

Hypernyms ("hornets' nest" is a kind of...):

situation (a complex or critical or unusual difficulty)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Habitation for wasps or hornets

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

hornet's nest; hornets' nest; wasp's nest; wasps' nest

Hypernyms ("hornets' nest" is a kind of...):

nidus (a nest in which spiders or insects deposit their eggs)