hive mind
noun
\ ˈhīv-ˌmīnd
\
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variants:
or less commonly hivemind
Definition of hive mind
1
: the collective mental activity expressed in the complex, coordinated behavior of a colony of social insects (such as bees or ants) regarded as comparable to a single mind controlling the behavior of an individual organism
The tiny bees in a hive are more or less unaware of their colony, but their collective hive mind transcends their small bee minds.— Sven Birkerts and Kevin Kelly
2
: the collective thoughts, ideas, and opinions of a group of people (such as Internet users) regarded as functioning together as a single mind
… Mindy Kaling asks her Twitter followers for the best dinner spots in cities she's visiting. Generally, people trust that feedback from the hive mind is correct and well-informed.— Sarah Z. Wexler While the building was being renovated, Jackson and his wife turned the design of the studio kitchen over to the hive mind of the staff.— Mark Healy … It's just not rational to believe that people are able to read, let alone understand, all the privacy policies …. Instead, users now rely on the Internet hivemind to know if a particularly egregious privacy change is afoot.— Andrea Peterson
Examples of hive mind in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Protesters have instead been taking cues from online forums and social media, working more like a hive mind. — Ryan Ho Kilpatrick, Los Angeles Times, "Hong Kong’s leaderless protest movement put to the test with arrest of prominent activists," 30 Aug. 2019 Perhaps our hive mind compels us to look the other way, to avoid too many questions, to not think about how many other cells contain secret worlds of wealth, deceit and violence. — Matt Farwell, The New Republic, "Jeffrey Epstein Chose New Mexico for a Reason," 15 Aug. 2019 The other difference between the human world and this alternate dimension is that all the living organisms in the Upside Down are connected by a hive mind called The Mind Flayer. — Jasmine Gomez, Seventeen, "What Is the Upside Down and How Did Will Byers Get There?," 19 July 2019 This becomes clearer in the final scene of the episode, when flayed Billy and Heather violently attack Heather’s parents with the intent of recruiting them to join the Mind Flayer’s hive mind army. — Time, "Breaking Down What Happens to Billy in Stranger Things Season 3," 4 July 2019 The hive mind is a potent element of any cult, and Midsommar indoctrinates us, the audience, along with its characters. — Anne Cohen, refinery29.com, "Midsommar Makes Haunting Horror Out Of Sunlight & Flower Crowns," 28 June 2019 Once again, nature might hold the answer: the neurobiological phenomenon known as the hive mind, found famously in the most industrious of the world’s creatures—the ant. — Joe Lindsey, Popular Mechanics, "'Game of Thrones' Science: How Do Wights Work?," 26 Apr. 2019 The roadmaps of tech giants and startups alike show how sound is poised to become the first ubiquitous connection between users and the artificial-intelligence hive mind the internet is becoming. — Christopher Mims, WSJ, "All Ears: Always-On Listening Devices Could Soon Be Everywhere," 12 July 2018 The hive mind was buzzing, the energy was fast and furious. — Tara Shafer, Redbook, "I Lost a Baby at 33 Weeks — Now I'm Fighting to Spare Others the Same Pain," 19 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hive mind.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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