killer bee
3
6.9
- noun
- /ˈkɪlər bi/
- US
:
abeja asesina
- You know why they call them killer bees, don't you?
Examples
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A swarm of killer bees is coming this way.
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The killer bees are coming!
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I am surrounded by hundreds, probably thousands of killer bees.
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The idea of those killer bees coming back is petrifying.
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We've been invaded by a mutant species of the African killer bee.
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They certainly don't fit descriptions of the Africanized honey bees that have captured headlines as "killer bees" because of their aggressive behavior and propensity to sting.
Academic text (1994) -
A swarm of killer bees can cause panic in a neighborhood.
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Farmers are worried about the impact of killer bees on their crops.
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In regions where killer bees are prevalent, people are advised to stay indoors.
Synonyms
1
8.0
A type of honeybee made by mixing African and European bees that is very aggressive and spreads fast
1
7.2
A honey bee bred from African and European bees that is very aggressive and spreads across the Americas
A type of honey bee that is very aggressive and spreads quickly in the Americas
Surface Forms
Morphology
killer + bee
Although the constituents 'killer' and 'bee' have clear literal meanings, the financial sense ('an investment banker who devises anti-takeover strategies') is a metaphorical, domain-specific jargon reading that cannot be predicted from the parts. A B1 learner who knows the words would most likely think of an aggressive insect or a violent agent, not a specialized banking role, so the expression is opaque.
Etymology
Killer bee comes from a real bee created when African and European bees were crossed in Brazil; these mixed bees attacked in large swarms and sometimes people died, so people started calling them a killer bee, meaning a very aggressive, 'dangerous' bee.