Word.ws English Dictionary

hornets' nest

hornets' nest noun: a nest of hornets.

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
    • Those articles in the tabloids stirred up a real hornets' nest.2007, Tom Peavler, The Adjustment

hornets' nest meaning in Arabic

hornets' nest in Arabic

an unpleasant or controversial situation
عش الدبابير

Forms of hornets' nest

pluralhornets' nests
alternative formhornet's nest

Questions about hornets' nest

What does hornets' nest mean?
Hornets' nest means a nest of hornets.
What is hornets' nest in Arabic?
Hornets' nest in Arabic is عش الدبابير. See Hornets' nest meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is hornets' nest?
Hornets' nest is a noun.
What is the plural of hornets' nest?
The plural of hornets' nest is hornets' nests.

Words near hornets' nest in the dictionary

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: 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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