yellow jacket


noun

any of several paper wasps of the family Vespidae, having black and bright yellow bands.
Slang. a yellow capsule of phenobarbital.

Origin of yellow jacket

An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800

Example sentences from the Web for yellow jacket

British Dictionary definitions for yellow jacket

yellow jacket

noun

US and Canadian any of several social wasps of the genus Vespa, having yellow markings on the body