yellow jacket
noun
\ Ëye-lĆ-Ëja-kÉt
, Ëye-lÉ-\
, Ëye-lÉ-\
variants:
or less commonly yellowjacket
Definition of yellow jacket
1
: any of various small yellow-marked vespid wasps (especially genus Vespula) that commonly nest in the ground and can sting repeatedly and painfully
2
slang
: pentobarbital especially in a yellow capsule
Examples of yellow jacket in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Unlike the yellow jacket, bumble bee nests donât have combs. — Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al.com, "Itâs Alabamaâs stinging season: How to identify yellow jacket, hornet and beesâ nests," 1 July 2019 Almost all stinging deaths in the United States are caused by yellow jackets, Hu added. — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "Alabamians, Beware the Wasp âSuper Nestâ," 1 July 2019 Alabama researchers found at least 26 giant nests of yellow jackets, with one located farther north than Birmingham. — Dennis Pillion | Dpillion@al.com, al.com, "Yellow jacket âsuper nestsâ now in 10 Alabama counties," 17 July 2019 In 2006, a colony of 15,000 yellow jackets -- the size of a Volkswagen Beetle -- was one of 90 perennial nests located in Alabama that year. — Mallory Hughes, CNN, "Massive wasp nests as big as a car are appearing in Alabama (again)," 1 July 2019 Despite their poor regard of humans, yellow jackets can do some good around the garden. — John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, "Bee kind to Alaskaâs pollinators (but itâs OK to smack a wasp)," 26 June 2019 Nearly all deaths by stinging are caused by yellow jackets. — Catherine Kim, Vox, "Vox Sentences: Hero or pirate?," 3 July 2019 But when colonies do manage to survive the winter, a super nest, or perennial yellow jacket nest, can form. — Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, "Alabama Officials Warn of Horrifying Wasp âSuper Nestsâ," 1 July 2019 Alabama Montgomery: Scientists are cautioning Alabamians to be on the lookout for yellow jacket super nests. — USA TODAY, "Summer snow, yellow jacket super nests, laundered cat: News from around our 50 states," 26 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'yellow jacket.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for yellow jacket
yellow jacket
noun
English Language Learners Definition of yellow jacket
US
: a small flying insect that has yellow marks on its body and that can sting you
See the full definition for yellow jacket in the English Language Learners Dictionary
yellow jacket
nounKids Definition of yellow jacket
: a small wasp with yellow markings that usually nests in colonies in the ground and can sting repeatedly and painfully
yellow jacket
nounMedical Definition of yellow jacket
1
: any of various yellow-marked social wasps (especially genus Vespula of the family Vespidae) that usually nest in the ground, aggressively defend their nests, and can sting repeatedly and painfully
2
slang
: pentobarbital especially in a yellow capsule
—usually used in plural
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