cobweb
Use Cobweb in a sentence
noun
1.
a web spun by a spider to entrap its prey.
2.
a single thread spun by a spider.
3.
something resembling a cobweb; anything finespun, flimsy, or insubstantial.
5.
cobwebs, confusion, indistinctness, or lack of order: I'm so tired my head is full of cobwebs.
verb (used with object)
6.
to cover with or as with cobwebs: Spiders cobwebbed the cellar.
7.
to confuse or muddle: Drunkenness cobwebbed his mind.
00:10
Cobweb
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English coppeweb, derivative of Old English -coppe spider (in ātorcoppe poison spider); cognate with Middle Dutch koppe; see web
1275–1325; Middle English coppeweb, derivative of Old English -coppe spider (in ātorcoppe poison spider); cognate with Middle Dutch koppe; see web
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To cobweb
Collins
World English Dictionary
cobweb (ˈkɒbˌwɛb) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a web spun by certain spiders, esp those of the family Theridiidae, often found in the corners of disused rooms |
| 2. | a single thread of such a web |
| 3. | something like a cobweb, as in its flimsiness or ability to trap |
| [C14 cob, from coppe, from Old English (ātor)coppe spider; related to Middle Dutch koppe spider, Swedish (dialect) etterkoppa] | |
| 'cobwebbed | |
| —adj | |
| 'cobwebby | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
cobweb
1323, first element is O.E. -coppe in atorcoppe "spider," lit. "poison-head" (see attercop). Cob for "a spider" was an old word nearly dead even in dialects when J.R.R. Tolkien used it in "The Hobbit" (1937).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
Example sentences
The line pattern that emerges is referred to as a cobweb.
Despite the board's findings, non-violent offenders remain listed and subject to a giant cobweb of controls.
Invent an interesting way to keep a cobweb collection.
Even now the exterior paint on that house blisters in cobweb patterns.
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