honeydew

Syllables: hon·ey·dew/ˈhʌnɪdjuː/US/ˈhʌniˌd(j)u/

honeydew noun: a sweet, sticky substance deposited on leaves and other plant parts by insects (especially aphids and scale insects) feeding on plant sap, or by fungi. Also the ellipsis of honeydew melon.

Noun

honeydew (countable and uncountable, plural honeydews)

(uncountable) A sweet, sticky substance deposited on leaves and other plant parts by insects (especially aphids and scale insects) feeding on plant sap, or by fungi.
- [T]here reſteth on the leaves of this tree a kinde of red thicke dew in the hotteſt time of Summer more then on any other tree round about it, which will be rather dry then bedewed at all, which honey dew being taken doth ſlake the thirſt wonderfully: […]1640, John Parkinson, “Nux Inglans. The Wallnut.”, in Theatrum Botanicum: The Theater of Plants. Or, An Herball of a Large Extent: […], London: […] Tho[mas] Cotes, →OCLC, page 1415
Synonyms:

melligo
(broadly, uncountable) A sweet liquid substance resembling the substance mentioned in sense 1, such as honey, nectar, or manna in the Bible.
- [F]reſh teares / Stood on her cheeks, as doth the honie devv, / Vpon a gathred Lillie almoſt vvithered.c. 1588–1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedie of Titus Andronicus: […] (First Quarto), London: […] Iohn Danter, and are to be sold by Edward White & Thomas...
- In India, and eſpecially in the region of the Praſians, it raineth many times a dew like liquid hony falling vppon the hearbs and graſſe of the earth: wherefore the ſhepheards lead their flocks vnto thoſe places, wherwithal their cattle are much delighted, and ſuch as is the food they eat, ſuch...1658, Edward Topsel [i.e., Edward Topsell], “Of the Sheepe”, in The History of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents: […], London: […] E. Cotes, for G. Sawbridge […], T. Williams […], and T. Johnson […]...
Synonyms:

ambrosia
(broadly, uncountable) A blackish mould (often called sooty mould) produced by fungi of the order Dothideales, feeding on the substance mentioned in sense 1.
(broadly, uncountable) In full honeydew tobacco: a fine sort of tobacco moistened with a sweet substance (originally molasses).
(broadly, uncountable) A light green colour, like the flesh of some honeydew melons.
(broadly, countable, figuratively) Something that is enjoyable or pleasant.
- He was held vnworthy euer after to ſucke the Hony dew of Peace, that (againſt his comming, by whom our Peace weares a triple Wreathe) would offer to play the Droane.1604, Tho[mas] Dekker, “A Device (Projected Downe, but till Now Not Publisht,) that Should Have Serued at His Maiesties First Accesse to the Citie”, in The Magnificent Entertainment: Giuen to King...

Adjective

honeydew (comparative more honeydew, superlative most honeydew)

Of a light green colour, like the flesh of some honeydew melons.

Also used as

honeydew is also the ellipsis of honeydew melon.

honeydew meaning in Arabic, Malay and Persian

honeydew in Arabic

sweet, sticky substance deposited on leaves, etc., by insects feeding on plant sap, or by fungi: مغثر
sweet liquid substance resembling the substance mentioned in sense 1: مَنّ mann

honeydew in Malay

sweet, sticky substance deposited on leaves, etc., by insects feeding on plant sap, or by fungi: madu serangga

honeydew in Persian

sweet, sticky substance deposited on leaves, etc., by insects feeding on plant sap, or by fungi: عسلک

Synonyms of honeydew

Forms of honeydew

Noun
plural	honeydews
Adjective
comparative	more honeydew
superlative	most honeydew

Origin of honeydew

The noun is derived from honey + dew, originally believed to be a form of dew that fell from the sky like rain onto plants (see sense 1). The adjective is derived from the noun.

Words formed from honeydew

Phrases with honeydew

Questions about honeydew

What does honeydew mean?: Honeydew means a sweet, sticky substance deposited on leaves and other plant parts by insects (especially aphids and scale insects) feeding on plant sap, or by fungi.
What is honeydew in Arabic?: Honeydew in Arabic is مغثر, مَنّ (mann). See Honeydew meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is honeydew?: Honeydew can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce honeydew?: Honeydew is pronounced /ˈhʌnɪdjuː/ (UK).
What is the plural of honeydew?: The plural of honeydew is honeydews.

Words near honeydew in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: honeydew (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-honeydew.wav.

Cite this entry: “honeydew.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/honeydew. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.