spider
Americannoun
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spiders
plural
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any of numerous predaceous arachnids of the order Araneae, most of which spin webs that serve as nests and as traps for prey.
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(loosely) any of various other arachnids resembling or suggesting these.
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any of various things resembling or suggesting a spider.
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a frying pan, originally one with legs or feet.
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a trivet or tripod, as for supporting a pot or pan on a hearth.
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Machinery.
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a part having a number of radiating spokes or arms, usually not connected at their outer ends.
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Also called cross. (in a universal joint) a crosslike part pivoted between the forked ends of two shafts to transmit motion between them.
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Digital Technology. a computer program that follows and catalogs links within websites in order to index web pages for a search engine.
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an evil person who entraps or lures others by wiles.
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a device attached to a cultivator, for pulverizing the soil.
verb (used with object)
noun
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any predatory silk-producing arachnid of the order Araneae, having four pairs of legs and a rounded unsegmented body consisting of abdomen and cephalothorax See also wolf spider trap-door spider tarantula black widow
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any of various similar or related arachnids
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a hub fitted with radiating spokes or arms that serve to transmit power or support a load
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agriculture an instrument used with a cultivator to pulverize soil
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any implement or tool having the shape of a spider
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nautical a metal frame fitted at the base of a mast to which halyards are tied when not in use
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any part of a machine having a number of radiating spokes, tines, or arms
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Also called: octopus. a cluster of elastic straps fastened at a central point and used to hold a load on a car rack, motorcycle, etc
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billiards snooker a rest having long legs, used to raise the cue above the level of the height of the ball
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angling an artificial fly tied with a hackle and no wings, perhaps originally thought to imitate a spider
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computing a computer program that is capable of performing sophisticated recursive searches on the internet
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short for spider phaeton
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of spider
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English spithre, Old English spīthra, akin to spinnan “to spin”; cognate with Danish spinder. See spin
Explanation
A spider is a small, eight-legged animal. Some people scream when they see a spider, but most of the time spiders won’t hurt you. You might think of spiders as falling into the category of "bugs," but they're not insects at all—spiders, like ticks and scorpions, are arachnids. Most spiders are harmless to people and helpful in controlling insect populations. Spiders feed on bugs that get caught in their sticky webs. The Germanic root of spider means "spinner." If you are terrified of spiders, you may suffer from arachnophobia, from the Latin arachnid, "spider," and phobia, "fear."
Vocabulary lists containing spider
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The team also produced an identification guide to help scientists distinguish sea spider species found throughout the region.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026
Researchers at the University of British Columbia have identified two previously unknown species of sea spider, including one with hairy legs and striking red eyes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026
I have no idea what children will make of a movie with as many semi-serious gags about extortionate legal bills as silly ones where a spider mugs a bug.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
That radioactive spider that transformed Peter Parker into Spider-Man could have bitten the class moron just as easily.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
A little while later, during Silent Reading, a spider crawled onto Becky Hibble’s book.
From "Fourth Grade Rats" by Jerry Spinelli
The study is the first comprehensive investigation of Salish Sea sea spiders to combine detailed imaging with DNA analysis.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026
Rearing the snails - as well as other critically endangered invertebrates such as scarlet malachite beetles, ladybird spiders and tadpole shrimp - has become a family affair.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Marsh harriers, bearded tits, flocks of waders and overwintering ducks and geese are a regular sight for visitors, along with otters, water voles, fen raft spiders, orchids and rare sharp-leaved pondweed.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
Despite the frightening image of spiders presented in movies such as Arachnophobia, most species pose no danger to people.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
His army of spiders collects around them, like the tiniest bodyguards ever.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
