honeycomb
honeycomb — noun
- honeycombsingular
- honeycombsplural
1. a natural wax structure built by bees inside their nest, made up of many six-sid
a natural wax structure built by bees inside their nest, made up of many six-sided cells that hold honey, pollen, and the young bees
Keiko watched the bees carefully carrying nectar back to the honeycomb.
countable noun referring to the physical structure
The beekeeper gently lifted a frame of honeycomb from the wooden hive.
Each cell in the honeycomb has six sides, which makes the structure very strong.
Wen noticed that the honeycomb was filled with golden honey ready for harvest.
The honeycomb pattern consists of hundreds of tiny hexagonal spaces packed tightly together.
- honeycomb frame
- honeycomb cell
- build a honeycomb
- honeycomb structure
- honeycomb pattern
- comb
shorter form used by beekeepers; less specific to the hexagonal shape
- beeswax structure
technical term focusing on the material rather than the shape
Grammar Patterns
a honeycomb
the honeycomb
honeycomb + noun (honeycomb structure)
2. any object, surface, or design that has a pattern of many small six-sided shapes
any object, surface, or design that has a pattern of many small six-sided shapes or holes, similar to the structure bees build
The building's outer wall was a honeycomb of small glass windows reflecting the sun.
structure: a honeycomb of + noun
Elena admired the honeycomb tile pattern on the floor of the old mosque in Istanbul.
The rock formations along the coast had a natural honeycomb texture worn by wind and waves.
Engineers designed a lightweight honeycomb panel for the inside of the aircraft door.
modifier use: honeycomb + noun (panel, structure, material)
- honeycomb pattern
- honeycomb structure
- honeycomb design
- honeycomb panel
- honeycomb material
- honeycomb texture
Grammar Patterns
a honeycomb of + noun
honeycomb pattern/structure/texture
Usage Note
Common in technical and architectural descriptions of materials with a hexagonal or cellular structure.
3. a light, brittle, bubbly candy made by boiling sugar and golden syrup with bakin
a light, brittle, bubbly candy made by boiling sugar and golden syrup with baking soda, which creates a hard foam with a texture like a honeycomb
Zahra bought a bag of honeycomb at the market and shared it with her cousins.
The baker crushed pieces of honeycomb and sprinkled them over the chocolate cake.
Fumi made honeycomb at home by heating sugar and syrup until it turned golden brown.
collocation: make honeycomb / honeycomb + verb
The honeycomb candy melted on Amara's tongue, leaving a sweet buttery taste behind.
- honeycomb candy
- honeycomb bar
- piece of honeycomb
- crunchy honeycomb
- chocolate-covered honeycomb
- sponge candy
American term for the same confection
- seafoam candy
another American regional name
- hokey pokey
New Zealand term for honeycomb candy
Grammar Patterns
piece of honeycomb
honeycomb + noun (honeycomb bar)
Usage Note
This sense is most common in British and Australian English. In the United States, the same candy is often called 'sponge candy' or 'seafoam'.
Common Mistakes
honeycomb — verb
- honeycombpresent simple I / you / we / they
- honeycombs3rd person singular
- honeycombing-ing form
- honeycombedpast simple
1. to fill a solid material, piece of ground, or structure with many small empty sp
to fill a solid material, piece of ground, or structure with many small empty spaces or tunnels, so that it becomes full of holes
The old limestone cliff was honeycombed with caves carved out by centuries of rain.
passive: be honeycombed with + noun
Ants had honeycombed the ground beneath the garden shed with a network of tunnels.
Yuki examined the piece of pumice, which was honeycombed with tiny air pockets.
passive form used with natural materials
Woodworm had honeycombed the old wooden beam so badly that it could no longer hold the roof.
- honeycombed with tunnels
- honeycombed with caves
- honeycombed with holes
- honeycombed with passages
Grammar Patterns
be honeycombed with + noun (holes/cavities/tunnels)
Usage Note
Almost always used in the passive form 'be honeycombed with' to describe the state of something. Active use ('honeycomb the ground') is much rarer.
Common Mistakes
2. to cut or decorate a surface with a repeating pattern of six-sided shapes that l
to cut or decorate a surface with a repeating pattern of six-sided shapes that look like the cells of a bee nest
Andre honeycombed the clay pot by pressing a hexagonal stamp around its surface.
active transitive use with craft action
The carpenter carefully honeycombed the edge of the wooden frame with a special chisel.
Hana admired the metal gate, which had been honeycombed into an intricate geometric design.
The artisan honeycombed the silver bracelet with tiny six-sided cutouts that caught the light.
- honeycomb a surface
- honeycombed with a pattern
- honeycombed metal
- honeycombed design
Grammar Patterns
honeycomb + noun (surface/material)
be honeycombed into/with
Usage Note
Typically used in craft, design, and architectural contexts. Describes intentional decorative work, unlike sense verb/1 which describes damage or natural processes.
3. to spread through every part of a system, organisation, or community without lea
to spread through every part of a system, organisation, or community without leaving any part untouched — describing thorough presence, not necessarily damage
Bureaucracy honeycombs the entire education system, from primary schools to universities.
subject is an abstract force; object is a system
A deep love of jazz music honeycombed every corner of the Guo household, from morning to night.
subject is a positive interest spreading through a domestic space
The tradition of community storytelling honeycombs every village festival across the region, bringing generations together.
Zahra discovered that informal rules honeycombed every department, often overriding official policy.
Digital technology has honeycombed modern education, changing how teachers plan lessons and students study.
present perfect active: has honeycombed + abstract domain
- honeycomb a system
- honeycomb an organisation
- honeycomb the government
- honeycomb the department
Grammar Patterns
honeycomb + noun (system/organisation/area)
Usage Note
The focus is on thorough penetration — the subject fills every part of the object regardless of whether the effect is positive, neutral, or negative. Unlike verb/4 (UNDERMINE FROM WITHIN), this sense does not imply damage or weakening; it only describes the scope of presence. The object is typically an abstract entity such as an institution, community, or system.
4. to gradually weaken the strength, authority, or integrity of something from with
to gradually weaken the strength, authority, or integrity of something from within by eating away at its core
Constant disagreements between the partners honeycombed the company until it finally closed.
abstract subject eroding an organisation
Diego warned that careless spending would honeycomb the charity's ability to help people.
Internal rivalries honeycombed the political party long before it lost the national election.
Years of neglect had honeycombed the school's reputation among parents in the community.
- honeycomb authority
- honeycomb morale
- honeycomb confidence
- honeycomb a relationship
- strengthen
to make something stronger rather than weaker
- fortify
to make something resistant against attack
Grammar Patterns
honeycomb + noun (authority/morale/structure)
Usage Note
This sense IS about destructive weakening from within — the subject eats away at the object's strength or integrity. Unlike verb/3 (PERVADE), which describes thorough presence without damage, verb/4 always implies harm. The subject is typically a negative abstract force such as disagreement, corruption, rivalry, or neglect.
Common Mistakes
5. to develop a surface covered with many small hollows or holes over time, usually
to develop a surface covered with many small hollows or holes over time, usually through weathering or wear
The sandstone fence posts had honeycombed after decades of rain and wind.
intransitive use describing natural change
In coastal areas, limestone cliffs honeycomb quickly when exposed to salt spray every day.
Wen noticed that the old concrete path had honeycombed in patches where water had pooled.
Over centuries the granite pillars of the ancient temple honeycombed from acid rain and pollution.
- honeycomb from weather
- honeycomb from erosion
- honeycomb over time
- honeycomb in patches
- smooth
to make a surface even and without holes
Grammar Patterns
honeycomb + (of surface)
become honeycombed
Usage Note
Unlike verb/1 (which implies an external agent filling something with holes), this sense describes a spontaneous process. The subject is the material itself, not an agent acting on it.
Word family
- honeycombedadjectiveC1
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
While all four words relate to where bees live and work, they refer to different objects. A 'hive' is the man-made wooden box or container that beekeepers provide for a colony of bees. The 'honeycomb' is the wax structure inside the hive, made up of rows of six-sided cells. 'Comb' is a shorter way to refer to the honeycomb, often used by beekeepers when handling the frames ('a frame of comb'). A 'bee nest' is the broader term for any place where bees build their home—it may be a hollow tree or a wall cavity rather than a man-made hive. For example: 'The beekeeper opened the hive and lifted out a frame packed with honeycomb.' 'The wild bees built their nest inside the old oak tree, filling the hollow trunk with comb.'
Common collocations
Nouns
- honeycomb structure
- honeycomb pattern
- honeycomb panel
- honeycomb texture
- honeycomb design
Phrases
- a honeycomb of something
- be honeycombed with something
Prepositions
- honeycomb of
- honeycombed with
Etymology
The word 'honeycomb' comes from Old English 'hunigcamb', a combination of 'hunig' (honey) and 'camb' (comb). The 'comb' part refers to the chewed beeswax structure, which was seen as resembling a hair comb because of its rows of cells. The word has been used in English for more than a thousand years, originally referring only to the bee-built structure. The verb senses developed later, from the 1500s onward, as people began using the image of a honeycomb to describe anything filled with holes or penetrated throughout.