black widow

American  

noun

• black widows
  plural

1. 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.

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black widow British  

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• black widows
  plural

Etymology

Origin of black widow

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

black widow

"Did it form by stripping the outside of a star, like 'normal' black widow systems are formed? Probably not, because nuclear physics does not make pure carbon."

From Science Daily ● Jan. 1, 2026

Hunting at night for crabs and avoiding being bitten by black widow spiders, he tells the cameras: "I'll be slammed for this Phillip Schofield mad rant."

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2024

A black widow bite is “medically important,” Vetter said, and can cause swelling where the fangs clamped down, severe stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, tremors and sweating.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2024

The black widow possesses venom 15 times as powerful as that of a rattlesnake.

From National Geographic ● Jul. 13, 2023

Arachne had the body of a giant black widow, with a hairy red hourglass mark on the underside of her abdomen and a pair of oozing spinnerets.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan