cobweb

[ kob-web ]

/ ˈkɒbˌwɛb /

noun

a web spun by a spider to entrap its prey.

a single thread spun by a spider.

something resembling a cobweb; anything finespun, flimsy, or insubstantial.

a network of plot or intrigue; an insidious snare.

cobwebs, confusion, indistinctness, or lack of order: I'm so tired my head is full of cobwebs.

verb (used with object), cob·webbed, cob·web·bing.

to cover with or as with cobwebs: Spiders cobwebbed the cellar.

to confuse or muddle: Drunkenness cobwebbed his mind.

Words nearby cobweb

cobot, cobourg, cobra, cobra de capello, coburg, cobweb, cobweb houseleek, cobwebby, cobwebs, coca, coca-cola

Origin of cobweb

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

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

Examples from the Web for cobwebs

That he ends up not lighting a lamp but tangled in the cobwebs is one of the truths of this valuable book.
Slaves In A Family's Past Haunt The Present|Michael Signer|August 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Gregg sent me a video and in it, they describe it as “clearing the cobwebs from the air” and “stepping over a dead body.”
Shailene Woodley Opens Up About Coming of Age, ‘Divergent,’ and the Faults in Our World|Marlow Stern|January 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That night, I dreamed of a square, three-story, concrete building that was dark and dingy with filth, dust, and cobwebs.
A Brigham Young University Professor’s Escape from Mormonism|Lynn K. Wilder|October 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I was free, and getting to my feet began quietly to brush the shreds of cobwebs from face and clothes.
Old Farm Fairies:|Henry Christopher McCook

And he 309must needs have Tiny Tim, also, to banish the cobwebs from his soul with his fervent “God bless us every one.”
The Vitalized School|Francis B. Pearson
Gradually the night air swept away the cobwebs, and he began to see things in a clearer light.
The Hero of Garside School|J. Harwood Panting
Well, there's a little more packin' to do; then I thought I'd go down to that parsonage and take a whack at the cobwebs.
Keziah Coffin|Joseph C. Lincoln
She always blew his cobwebs away like this, with a puff of humorous mountain air.
The Longest Journey|E. M. Forster

British Dictionary definitions for cobwebs (1 of 2)

cobwebs

/ (ˈkɒbˌwɛbz) /

pl n

mustiness, confusion, or obscurity

informal stickiness of the eyelids experienced upon first awakening

British Dictionary definitions for cobwebs (2 of 2)

cobweb

/ (ˈkɒbˌwɛb) /

noun

a web spun by certain spiders, esp those of the family Theridiidae, often found in the corners of disused rooms

a single thread of such a web

something like a cobweb, as in its flimsiness or ability to trap

Derived forms of cobweb

cobwebbed, adjectivecobwebby, adjective

Word Origin for cobweb

C14 cob, from coppe, from Old English (ātor) coppe spider; related to Middle Dutch koppe spider, Swedish (dialect) etterkoppa

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

cobweb

noun

verb (used with object), cob·webbed, cob·web·bing.

Words related to cobweb

Words nearby cobweb

Origin of cobweb

Examples from the Web for cobwebs

British Dictionary definitions for cobwebs (1 of 2)

pl n

British Dictionary definitions for cobwebs (2 of 2)

noun

Derived forms of cobweb

Word Origin for cobweb