bee
part of speech
noun (a bee, bees)
meaning for a pupil
1) A bee is a flying insect with a hairy body, often yellow and black striped, that collects nectar and pollen from flowers; some bees make honey and wax. tree →
2) A bee is also a meeting or contest, like a spelling bee. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: An insect that stings, and the Torah uses it to show how the Amorites chased Israel. Interpretation: The tradition says that bees die after they sting, and this fits with how the Amorites chased and then fell. The image shows a swarm that is fierce but then dies. In the primary lessons: In science, bees are very important pollinators: they carry pollen between flowers so plants make fruit and seeds; honeybees live in hives in colonies with a queen, workers and drones, and make honey from nectar. Many bees, like bumblebees, are gentle. In safety, honeybees and wasps can sting; stay calm and walk away, and tell an adult if stung, especially if you are allergic. In school, a «spelling bee» is a spelling competition. Phrases: «busy as a bee», «make a beeline» (go straight).
examples
- And the Amorites, that dwell in that hill-country, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and beat you down in Seir, even unto Hormah. (Torah DEU.1.44, JPS 1917) tree →
- They compass me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns; verily, in the name of the LORD I will cut them off. (Writings PSA.118.12, JPS 1917) tree →
- And after a while he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion; and, behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. (Prophets JDG.14.8, JPS 1917) tree →
- And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. (Prophets ISA.7.18, JPS 1917) tree →
- A bee landed on the flower. tree →
- Bees make honey from nectar. tree →
- Stay calm if a bee flies near you. tree →
- The queen bee lays all the eggs. tree →
- Bumblebees are big and furry. tree →
- She won the school spelling bee. tree →
- Without bees, many fruits would not grow. tree →
- He made a beeline for the cake. tree →
- The bees could not be driven away. tree →
note
Countable: a bee, bees. Homophone: «be» (the verb). A honeybee usually dies after stinging; wasps and bumblebees can sting more than once. Myth: all bees make honey — many kinds do not. Bees are insects: six legs, three body parts.
In the corpora
- Some lemurs drink nectar and carry pollen on their faces from flower to flower, pollinating plants as bees do.
- Tarantulas are mostly gentle; their bite is usually no worse than a bee sting, and some flick itchy hairs to defend themselves.
- What elephants really fear is the buzzing of angry bees, which can sting the soft skin inside the trunk and round the eyes.
- More Australians are hurt by horses, cows and bees than by snakes or spiders.
- Bees collect nectar and pollen from flowers; nectar is turned into honey and pollen feeds the young bees.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «bee» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.