3 ADV You say ' honest ' before or after a statement to emphasize that you are telling the truth and that you want people to believe you. [INFORMAL , EMPHASIS ] □ I'm not sure, honest.
4 PHRASE Some people say ' honest to God ' to emphasize their feelings or to emphasize that something is really true. [INFORMAL , EMPHASIS ] □ I wish we weren't doing this, Lillian, honest to God, I really do.
5 PHRASE You can say ' to be honest ' before or after a statement to indicate that you are telling the truth about your own opinions or feelings, especially if you think these will disappoint the person you are talking to. [FEELINGS ] □ To be honest the house is not quite our style.
ho n|est bro |ker (honest brokers ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] If a person or country acts as an honest broker , they try to help people resolve a dispute or arrange a deal by talking to all sides and finding out what they want, without favouring any one side. □ Canada's prime minister will be hoping to play honest broker in the row between the United States and Japan.
hon|est|ly /ɒ n I stli/
1 ADV [ADV before v] You use honestly to emphasize that you are referring to your, or someone else's, true beliefs or feelings. [EMPHASIS ] □ But did you honestly think we wouldn't notice?
2 ADV You use honestly to emphasize that you are telling the truth and that you want people to believe you. [SPOKEN , EMPHASIS ] □ Honestly, I don't know anything about it.
3 ADV You use honestly to indicate that you are annoyed or impatient. [SPOKEN , FEELINGS ] □ Honestly, Nev! Must you be quite so crude!
4 → see also honest
hon|es|ty /ɒ n I sti/ N‑UNCOUNT Honesty is the quality of being honest. □ They said the greatest virtues in a politician were integrity, correctness and honesty. ● PHRASE You say in all honesty when you are saying something that might be disappointing or upsetting, and you want to soften its effect by emphasizing your sincerity. [EMPHASIS ] □ In all honesty, the real problem was me.
hon|ey /hʌ ni/ (honeys )
1 N‑VAR Honey is a sweet, sticky, yellowish substance that is made by bees.
2 N‑COUNT You call someone honey as a sign of affection. [mainly AM ] □ Honey, I don't really think that's a good idea.
honey|bee /hʌ nibiː/ (honeybees ) N‑COUNT A honeybee is a bee that makes honey.
honey|comb /hʌ nikoʊm/ (honeycombs ) N‑VAR A honeycomb is a wax structure consisting of rows of six-sided spaces where bees store their honey.
hon|eyed /hʌ nid/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You can describe someone's voice or words as honeyed when they are very pleasant to listen to, especially if you want to suggest that they are insincere. □ His gentle manner and honeyed tones reassured Andrew.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You can describe something as honeyed when it tastes or smells of honey, or is the pale yellowish colour of honey. [LITERARY ] □ I could smell the honeyed ripeness of melons and peaches. □ …a warm, honeyed light.
honey|moon /hʌ nimuːn/ (honeymoons , honeymooning , honeymooned )
1 N‑COUNT A honeymoon is a holiday taken by a man and a woman who have just got married.
2 VERB When a recently-married couple honeymoon somewhere, they go there on their honeymoon. □ [V ] They honeymooned in Venice.
3 N‑COUNT You can use honeymoon to refer to a period of time after the start of a new job or new government when everyone is pleased with the person or people concerned and is nice to them. □ Brett is enjoying a honeymoon period with both press and public.
honey|pot /hʌ nipɒt/ (honeypots )
1 N‑COUNT If you describe something as a honeypot , you mean that it is very desirable or very popular. □ …traditional tourist honeypots such as London, Bath, Edinburgh, and York.
2 PHRASE If something attracts people like bees to a honeypot or like bees round a honeypot , it attracts people in large numbers. □ This is the show that attracts computer industry people like bees to a honeypot.
honey|suckle /hʌ nisʌk ə l/ (honeysuckles ) N‑VAR Honeysuckle is a climbing plant with sweet-smelling yellow, pink, or white flowers.
honey|trap /hʌ nitræp/ (honeytraps ) N‑COUNT A honeytrap is a situation in which someone is tricked into immoral or illegal sexual behaviour so that their behaviour can be publicly exposed.
honk /hɒ ŋk/ (honks , honking , honked ) VERB If you honk the horn of a vehicle or if the horn honks , you make the horn produce a short loud sound. □ [V n] Drivers honked their horns in solidarity with the peace marchers. □ [V ] Horns honk. An angry motorist shouts. ● N‑COUNT Honk is also a noun. □ She pulled to the right with a honk.
honky-tonk /hɒ ŋki tɒŋk/ (honky-tonks )
1 N‑COUNT [oft N n] A honky-tonk is a cheap bar or nightclub. [AM ] □ …little honky-tonk bars in Texas.
2 N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Honky-tonk is the kind of piano music that was formerly played in honky-tonks. □ …the beat of honky-tonk pianos.
hon|or /ɒ nə r / → see honour
hon|or|able /ɒ nrəb ə l/ → see honourable
hono|rar|ium /ɒ nəreə riəm/ (honoraria /ɒ nəreə riə/ or honorariums ) N‑COUNT An honorarium is a fee that someone receives for doing something which is not a normal part of their job, for example giving a talk.
hon|or|ary /ɒ nərəri, [AM ] -reri/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] An honorary title or membership of a group is given to someone without their needing to have the necessary qualifications, usually because of their public achievements. □ …an honorary member of the Golf Club.