WORKER BEE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does worker bee mean? 

• WORKER BEE (noun)
  The noun WORKER BEE has 1 sense:

1. sterile bee specialized to collect food and maintain the hive

  Familiarity information: WORKER BEE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WORKER BEE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Sterile bee specialized to collect food and maintain the hive

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("worker bee" is a kind of...):

worker (sterile member of a colony of social insects that forages for food and cares for the larvae)

Holonyms ("worker bee" is a member of...):

Apoidea; superfamily Apoidea (bees)

 Context examples 

The makeup of microbial species—the microbiome—in a honey bee queen’s gut changes slowly as she ages, while a worker bee’s microbiome changes much more rapidly, according to a new study published by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists.

(Species Shifts in the Honey Bee Microbiome Differ with Age and Hive Role, U.S. Department of Agriculture)