spider's web
Học thuậtThân thiện
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 It can also be used figuratively for something outdated or forgotten.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
- a web spun by spiders to trap insect prey
- a web resembling the webs spun by spiders