honeycomb

English
Honeycomb with drone larvae and eggs.

Etymology

From Middle English hony combe, from Old English huniġcamb; equivalent to honey +‎ comb. The Oxford English Dictionary (s.v. "honeycomb") suggests that the arrangement of plates of wax (with honey) "hanging parallel to each other from the roof of the hive suggests a comb with its teeth".

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈhʌniːkəʊm/
    • Audio (RP)(file)

Noun

honeycomb (plural honeycombs)

  1. A structure of hexagonal cells made by bees primarily of wax, to hold their larvae and for storing the honey to feed the larvae and to feed themselves during winter.
  2. (by extension) Any structure resembling a honeycomb.
    The wood porch was a honeycomb of termite tunnels before we replaced it.
    • 1797 June 20, John Adams, Letter from John Adams to Uriah Forrest‎:
      [there is in Jefferson] […] evidence of a mind soured, yet seeking for popularity, and eaten to a honeycomb with ambition […]
  3. (construction) Voids left in concrete resulting from failure of the mortar to effectively fill the spaces among coarse aggregate particles.
  4. (aviation) Manufactured material used to manufacture light, stiff structural components using a sandwich design.
  5. (solar cell) The texture of the surface of a solar cell, intended to increase its surface area and capture more sunlight.
  6. (geometry) A space-filling packing of polytopes in 3- or higher-dimensional space.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

honeycomb (third-person singular simple present honeycombs, present participle honeycombing, simple past and past participle honeycombed)

  1. To riddle something with holes, especially in such a pattern.
    Termites will honeycomb a porch made of untreated pine.

See also

Further reading
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