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spinneret

American  
[spin-uh-ret, spin-uh-ret] / ˈspɪn əˌrɛt, ˌspɪn əˈrɛt /

noun

  1. an organ or part by means of which a spider, insect larva, or the like spins a silky thread for its web or cocoon.

  2. a metal plate or cup with tiny holes through which a chemical solution is extruded to form continuous filaments, as of rayon, nylon, or polyester.


spinneret British  
/ ˈspɪnəˌrɛt /

noun

  1. any of several organs in spiders and certain insects through which silk threads are exuded

  2. a finely perforated dispenser through which a viscous liquid is extruded in the production of synthetic fibres

"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

spinneret Scientific  
/ spĭn′ə-rĕt /
  1. One of the small openings in the back part of a spider or silk-producing insect larva, through which the sticky fluid that dries into silk is released.


Etymology

Origin of spinneret

First recorded in 1820–30; spinner + -et

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.

See Examples For:

Before long it throws out threads from its spinneret, a tiny opening near the mouth, and makes a kind of net to support the cocoon which it is about to weave.

From Makers of Many Things by Tappan, Eva March

The labium or second maxillæ, so large in the moth, serves simply as a spinneret in the caterpillar.

From Our Common Insects A Popular Account of the Insects of Our Fields, Forests, Gardens and Houses by Packard, A. S. (Alpheus Spring)

Being less long than the other two pairs, they are brought into immediate contact with those primordial implements, the mandibles and the spinneret.

From The Life of the fly; with which are interspersed some chapters of autobiography by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

It is truncated, wide open and supplied with a membranous partition, the work of the spinneret.

From The Life of the fly; with which are interspersed some chapters of autobiography by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

The thread, as a matter of fact, does not flow from the spinneret; it is drawn thence with a certain effort. 

From The Life of the Spider by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

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