# honeycomb

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhʌnikəʊm/ · frequency rank #31,203

## Definitions
1. A substance made by bees (clade Anthophila) primarily from beeswax which has hexagonal cells to hold their larvae, and for storing pollen and honey to feed the larvae and themselves when other food is scarce; it is also eaten by humans as part of comb-honey; (countable) a single sheet made up of two layers of this substance.
2. Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes.
3. Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes.
4. Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes.
5. Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes.
6. Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes.
7. Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes.
8. Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes.
9. Something resembling honeycomb in sweetness; hence, something desirable or pleasant.
10. Something resembling honeycomb in sweetness; hence, something desirable or pleasant.
11. Something resembling honeycomb in sweetness; hence, something desirable or pleasant.

## Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English hony comb, from Old English huniġcamb, from huniġ (“honey”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kn̥h₂ónks (“honey”)) + camb (“comb”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵómbʰos (“peg; tooth; row of teeth”)). The English word is analysable as honey + comb. The Oxford English Dictionary posits that the arrangement of several plates of wax “hanging parallel to each other from the roof of the hive suggests a comb with its teeth”. The verb is derived from the noun.

## Common misspellings (14)
`hhoneycomb`, `hnoeycomb`, `hoenycomb`, `honecyomb`, `honeyccomb`, `honeycmob`, `honeycobm`, `honeycombb`, `honeycommb`, `honeyocmb`, `honeyycomb`, `honneycomb`, `honyecomb`, `ohneycomb`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/honeycomb