cobweb

American  

[kob-web] / ˈkɒbˌwɛb /

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.

4. a network of plot or intrigue; an insidious snare.

5. cobwebs, confusion, indistinctness, or lack of order.

   I'm so tired my head is full of cobwebs.

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verb (used with object)

cobwebbed, cobwebbing

1. to cover with or as with cobwebs.

   Spiders cobwebbed the cellar.

2. to confuse or muddle.

   Drunkenness cobwebbed his mind.

cobweb British  

/ ˈkɒbˌwɛb /

noun

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

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Usage

What does cobweb mean? Cobweb is another word for a spider web. But cobweb is most commonly used to refer to the kind of dusty old spider webs that hang in the corners of places that haven’t been used or cleaned in a long time, like attics and abandoned houses.For that reason, cobweb is often used in expressions like clean out the cobwebs, meaning to do something to clear your mind or make it function normally again, perhaps after a period of inactivity or confusion.Cobweb can also be used as a verb, meaning to cover in cobwebs, as in No one had entered the study for years, and spiders had cobwebbed the entire bookcase.Example: The abandoned house was dusty and full of cobwebs.

Other Word Forms

• cobwebbed adjective
• cobwebby adjective

Etymology

Origin of cobweb

1275–1325; Middle English coppeweb, derivative of Old English -coppe spider (in ātorcoppe poison spider); cognate with Middle Dutch koppe; web

Example Sentences

This design closely matches earlier observations of crystal formations described as "cobwebs," which spread outward from a central point where the multifaceted ends meet.

From Science Daily

Aunt Kitty just blinked, letting my complaints tangle around me like a sticky cobweb.

From Literature

But the full force of energy bursting from Cyclops' visor should obliterate those cobwebs.

From BBC

There’s this cloudy feeling in my head, like everything’s covered in cobwebs.

From Literature

"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