wasp
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Any of many types of stinging flying insect resembling a hornet.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
wahspIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈwɑsp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Any of many types of stinging flying insect resembling a hornet.
entomology
Any of the members of suborder Apocrita, excepting the ants (family Formicidae) and bees (clade Anthophila).
Any of the members of the family Vespidae.
A person who behaves in an angry or insolent way, hence waspishly.
US
A white person of Anglo-Saxon ancestry who belongs to a Protestant denomination
us
Acronym of White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, a member of the supposed ruling class of America.
verb
To move like a wasp; to buzz.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A very slender waist.
A variety of vespid wasp.
Small solitary wasp that produces galls on oaks and other plants.
Small solitary wasp that produces galls on oaks and other plants.
Solitary wasp that digs nests in the soil and stocks them with paralyzed insects for the larvae.
Small solitary wasp that produces galls on oaks and other plants.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Habitation for wasps or hornets.
Habitation for wasps or hornets.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.