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cobweb

/ˌkɑbˈwɛb/
/ˈkɒbwɛb/
IPA guide

Other forms: cobwebs

A cobweb is the net of sticky threads that a spider weaves to catch insects. You can also call a cobweb a spider's web.

A cobweb is any spider's web, although some people use it to specify the dense, tangled type of web that certain spiders weave, or to mean a dusty old web, like the ones you might see in your grandparents' attic. Cobweb can also describe some intricate or complicated things: "She got lost in the cobweb of unfamiliar subway lines in the city." It comes from the Old English coppeweb, from the now-obsolete coppe, "spider."

Definitions of cobweb
  1. noun
    a dense elaborate spider web that is more efficient than the orb web
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    type of:
    spider web, spider's web
    a web spun by spiders to trap insect prey
  2. noun
    filaments from a web that was spun by a spider
    synonyms: gossamer
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    type of:
    fibril, filament, strand
    a very slender natural or synthetic fiber
  3. noun
    a fabric so delicate and transparent as to resemble a web of a spider
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    type of:
    cloth, fabric, material, textile
    artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘cobweb'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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