Word.ws English Dictionary

hornet's nest

hornet's nest is the alternative form of hornets' nest.

Meaning of hornets' nest

Noun

hornets' nest (plural hornets' nests)

  1. (literal) A nest of hornets.
  2. (figuratively) An unpleasant or controversial situation likely to be exacerbated by outside involvement.
    • Now what a-devil has set this hornet's nest of theirs abuzz so suddenly?1902, Francis Lynde, The Master of Appleby

Forms of hornet's nest

pluralhornet's nests

Questions about hornet's nest

What is hornet's nest the alternative form of?
Hornet's nest is the alternative form of hornets' nest.

Words near hornet's nest in the dictionary

  1. horners
  2. hornes
  3. hornet
  4. hornet flies
  5. hornet fly
  6. hornet's nest
  7. hornetlike
  8. hornets
  9. hornets' nest
  10. hornets' nests
  11. hornety

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: hornet's nest (page history and authors); hornets' nest (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.

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