Definition

Noun: 1. A web spun by spiders to trap insect prey: A structure of very fine, sticky silk threads created by a spider, used to catch insects for food. 2. A web resembling the webs spun by spiders: Any intricate, delicate network or structure that looks similar to a spider's web.

Usage Examples

• Literal Meaning:
  • The morning dew glistened on the intricate spider's web stretched between the branches.
  • A fly was hopelessly trapped in the sticky spider's web.
• Figurative Meaning:
  • The old attic was filled with a thick spider's web of dust and cobwebs.
  • He was caught in a spider's web of lies and deceit from which he could not escape.

Advanced Usage

• Metaphorical Use: Often used to describe complex, interconnected, and potentially entrapping situations or systems.
  • The investigation revealed a vast spider's web of corporate corruption.
• "To spin a spider's web": An idiom meaning to create a complex, often deceptive, plan or situation.
  • The spy spent years spinning a spider's web of false identities.

Variants and Related Words

• Cobweb (n): Typically refers to an old, dusty spider's web, often found in abandoned places. It can also be used figuratively for something outdated or forgotten.
  • We need to clear the cobwebs from our old marketing strategy.
• Web (n): A more general term that can mean a spider's web, but also any network of fine threads or interconnected parts (e.g., the World Wide Web).
• Orb web (n): A specific, common type of spiral spider's web.

Synonyms

• Snare: A trap for catching animals, often used figuratively like "spider's web."
• Net: An open-meshed fabric or structure for catching things.
• Mesh: A network of wire, thread, etc.
• Labyrinth: A complicated, irregular network; a maze (for the figurative sense).

Related Phrases

• A tangled web: A phrase popularized by Sir Walter Scott ("Oh, what a tangled web we weave...") meaning a complicated and problematic situation created by deception.
  • His lies created a tangled web that eventually ensnared him.

Related Idioms

• Like a fly in a spider's web: To be completely trapped and helpless in a dangerous or inescapable situation.
  • The whistleblower felt like a fly in a spider's web, surrounded by powerful enemies.

Noun

1. a web spun by spiders to trap insect prey
2. a web resembling the webs spun by spiders