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# hive

noun (a hive, hives); verb (hive off — UK; hive, hived)

«hive» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A hive is a home for bees, either a box made by people or a natural nest. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hive/#m1)
2. A hive can mean all the bees living in it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hive/#m2)
3. A hive of activity is a very busy place full of people working. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hive/#m3)
4. (UK) To hive off part of something is to separate it to be run on its own. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hive/#m4)
5. Hives (plural) is an itchy red rash on the skin, often from an allergy. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hive/#m5)

### In the lessons

In science, a hive has a queen, workers and drones; they make honey and wax in hexagon-shaped cells. In everyday life, the classroom before a party is «a hive of activity». In safety, don't knock a hive; bee stings hurt and some people are allergic. Phrases: beehive, a hive of activity, hive off, break out in hives.

### Examples

- The beekeeper opened the hive to collect honey. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hive/#x1)
- A hive can hold thousands of bees. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hive/#x2)
- The kitchen was a hive of activity before the party. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hive/#x3)
- The bees flew back to the hive at sunset. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hive/#x4)
- She broke out in hives after eating nuts. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hive/#x5)
- The cells inside a hive are hexagons, with 6 sides each. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hive/#x6)
- The company hived off its toy business. (UK, formal) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hive/#x7)
- Don't poke a hive — the bees will sting. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hive/#x8)
- He went on farther and saw a hive of bees in the forest. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hive/#x9)

### Note

Countable noun. «Hives» the rash is a plural with no singular. A «beehive» is the same thing as a hive. Bees build hexagon cells; a hexagon has 6 sides. Myth: bees don't die after every sting — honeybees usually do, but bumblebees and wasps can sting again.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «hive» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hive/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«hive» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/hive.html) on Mova free.