giant hornet

noun

plural giant hornets
1
: european hornet
European hornets, also called giant hornets, can damage plants by stripping bark to build their paper nests.Forsyth County News (Cumming, Georgia)
2
: northern giant hornet
The giant hornet extends about 3.5 to 3.9 centimeters in length (1.4 to 1.5 inches), roughly the size of a human thumb, and it has a black tooth used for burrowing, according to an animal database at the University of Michigan. The queens are even bigger, with bodies that can grow longer than 5 centimeters (2 inches).Madison Park et al.

Examples of giant hornet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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There are similar concerns over populations of tree-munching ash borers and the invasive Asian giant hornet, a potential threat to honeybee populations across Europe and North America. Jules Howard, TIME, 4 Sep. 2024 More murder hornets found After officials destroyed the second Asian giant hornet nest of 2021, a third one was found in Washington state. Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY, 13 Sep. 2021 As Asian giant hornet nests go, this one is pretty pedestrian. Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Nov. 2020 The first Asian giant hornet was found in the state a year ago and the first was trapped in July. Fox News, 11 Nov. 2020 While most Asian giant hornet nests are in the ground, this one was in a tree. NBC News, 26 Oct. 2020 The first Asian giant hornet nest of 2021 was located in Washington state on August 19. Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Aug. 2021 Asian giant hornets are the world’s largest hornet and are not native to North America. Nicholas K. Geranios, chicagotribune.com, 27 Aug. 2021 This year’s first Asian giant hornet was found in Washington state’s Snohomish County on June 4, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Washington State Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday. Jessica Flores, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 June 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of giant hornet was in 1902

Dictionary Entries Near giant hornet

Cite this Entry

“Giant hornet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/giant%20hornet. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

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