cobwebs
Britishplural noun
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mustiness, confusion, or obscurity
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informal stickiness of the eyelids experienced upon first awakening
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.
"And when we added the methyl groups back to the genes, they turned off again. So, these compounds aren't cobwebs -- they're anchors."
From Science Daily • Jan. 5, 2026
For now, though, investors should prepare to shake off the cobwebs over tech stocks, according to Newton.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 24, 2025
She plans to sweep away the cobwebs and inject warmth and life into a farm mired in portentous dialogue and unmentionable secrets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
"The drawers of the kitchen can actually be pulled out so more stuff can be piled on top. There's bread, and some sort of rotting cheese. The fridge has cobwebs."
From BBC • Dec. 11, 2025
And cobwebs, and evidence of mice, although how they got in and out I couldn’t tell.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
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.
