honey-comb

Noun

honeycomb (countable and uncountable, plural honeycombs)

1. (uncountable) A substance made by bees (clade Anthophila) primarily from beeswax which has hexagonal cells to hold their larvae, and for storing pollen and honey to feed the larvae and themselves when other food is scarce; it is also eaten by humans as part of comb-honey; (countable) a single sheet made up of two layers of this substance.
   • Pleaſant words are [as] an honycombe, ſweete to the ſoule, and health to the bones.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 16:24, column 2
2. (broadly, countable) Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes.
   • The wood porch was a honeycomb of termite tunnels before we replaced it.
   1. (broadly, countable) A space-filling packing of polytopes in three- or higher-dimensional space.
   2. (broadly) The texture of the surface of a solar cell, intended to increase its surface area and capture more sunlight.
   3. (archaic, broadly) A defect in a material (especially metal) where small holes are present; specifically (construction), a defect in concrete consisting of numerous voids resulting from the failure of mortar to effectively fill the spaces among coarse aggregate particles.
   4. (broadly) Material manufactured with small hollow cells, sometimes sandwiched between two flat sheets, which is used to make light, stiff structural components.

See all 15 meanings of honeycomb