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Glite Dictionary
giant hornet

giant hornet

6.5
A very large insect like a wasp that stings and can be aggressive
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒaɪənt ˈhɔrnɪt/
translation icon : avispa gigante
  • The giant hornet is known for its aggressive behavior, especially when its nest is disturbed.

Examples

  • Be careful not to provoke a giant hornet; its sting can be very painful.

  • While hiking in the woods, we spotted a giant hornet building its nest high in a tree.

  • Finished filming and I wonder if you can tell from that time lapse that a giant Hornet just casually swooped in.

  • She even opined once that a giant hornet had flown into my apartment because it was attracted to the piles of papers and books on the living room floor.

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Synonyms

hornet
vsgiant hornet
31 4.1

A large wasp with a strong sting that lives in paper nests

is used especially for a particular large species introduced to the US
Vespa crabro
vsgiant hornet
  • Specialized
9.9

A large hornet with yellow and brown marks from Europe and parts of Asia

is the common US label for that introduced large species
Vespa
vsgiant hornet
  • Specialized
8.3

A group of large wasps like hornets that can sting

is the single species name rather than the whole genus

Surface Forms

giant hornet singular
giant hornets plural

Morphology

giant + hornet

The meaning 'a very large hornet' is directly and compositionally derived from 'giant' (notably huge) + 'hornet' (a large wasp) with no idiomatic or metaphorical shift. This adjective + noun pattern is standard and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

Giant hornet comes from a simple image of a very big hornet that is much larger than usual. People called the insect giant because of its size and strong sting, so giant hornet means 'a very large, dangerous hornet'.