black widow

noun

a venomous spider, Latrodectus mactans, widely distributed in the U.S., the female of which is jet-black with an hourglass-shaped red mark on the underside of its abdomen.

Nearby words

black warrior river, black watch, black water, black wattle, black whale, black widow, black witch, black, hugo, black-a-vised, black-and-blue, black-and-tan

Origin of black widow

First recorded in 1910–15

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for black widow

black widow

noun

an American spider, Latrodectus mactans, the female of which is black with red markings, highly venomous, and commonly eats its mate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012