Colloquial Variant guide

yellow jacket

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A predatory wasp with alternating black and yellow stripes around the abdomen, usually of the genera Vespula or Dolichovespula.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A capsule of pentobarbital sodium (or sometimes other barbiturates), especially when used as a recreational drug.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: canary

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Synonym of yellow vest (“member of a French protest movement which started in late 2018”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: yellow vest

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

small yellow-marked social wasp commonly nesting in the ground

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: yellow hornet, Vespula maculifrons

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: hornet

5

noun

Meaning 5

a barbiturate (trade name Nembutal) used as a sedative and hypnotic and antispasmodic

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pentobarbital sodium, pentobarbital, Nembutal

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: barbiturate

History

Etymology

From yellow + jacket. * (pentobarbital sodium): Named after the yellow capsule of the Nembutal brand.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Ahtna: łukʼae tsʼendziidi — predatory wasp with alternating black and yellow stripes around the abdomen
  • Chinook Jargon: anthiyeɬ — predatory wasp with alternating black and yellow stripes around the abdomen
  • Choctaw: yakni foi — predatory wasp with alternating black and yellow stripes around the abdomen
  • Klamath-Modoc: sk'ins — predatory wasp with alternating black and yellow stripes around the abdomen