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a habitation or dwelling-place constructed for bees, usually either dome-shaped or box-shaped.
a natural habitation of bees, as a hollowed-out tree.
a crowded, busy place.
something resembling an artificial beehive in appearance, as a hut or hairdo.
also called beehive oven. an oven for converting coal into c-ke, characterized by its dome-shaped roof.
contemporary examples

the beehive state is attracting lots of investment, finishing seventh for access to capital.
south dakota is 2013 top state for business cnbc july 8, 2013

jacobs sent his models, with their beehive hairdos, down the escalator in pairs who were dressed in complimentary styles.
louis vuitton, chanel, mcqueen cap paris spring 2013 fashion week shows robin givhan october 2, 2012

jeb bush recently stuck a stick in the gop beehive on immigration and common core education standards.
why hillary vs. jeb would be great for america mark mckinnon april 12, 2014

the bees laline paull (ecco) this arresting debut novel is a daring dystopian story set in a beehive.
the best fiction of 2014: ford, ferrante, klay, and more william o’connor december 6, 2014

to get the beehive hair through neck holes, girls’ heads are covered in m-ssive nets.
backstage at vera w-ng isabel wilkinson september 13, 2010

historical examples

and he would have died of want, i suspect, rather than have written ‘r-sselas’ for the ‘beehive’!
my novel, complete edward bulwer-lytton

honey is sometimes extracted from the honeycomb and the comb replaced in the beehive.
orthography elmer w. cavins

at other times she can melt and be generous; in her beehive she is not only the congregation of workers, but also the queen.
soliloquies in england george santayana

not only poverty, but sin-in-rags, was sure of help in the beehive.
dusty diamonds cut and polished r.m. ballantyne

as the reader will expect, no trace of burley could leonard find: the humourist had ceased to communicate with the “beehive.”
my novel, complete edward bulwer-lytton

noun
a man-made receptacle used to house a swarm of bees
a dome-shaped hair style in which the hair is piled high on the head
a place where busy people are -ssembled
noun (informal) the beehive
the dome-shaped building that houses sections of parliament in wellington, new zealand
the new zealand government
n.

early 14c., from bee + hive (n.). as the name of a hairstyle, attested from 1960 (the style itself said to be popular from 1958). as the name of a star cl-ster in the constellation cancer, from 1840 (see praesepe).