spinneret

[ spin-uh-ret, spin-uh-ret ]

noun

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

Origin of spinneret

First recorded in 1820–30; spinner + -et

Words Nearby spinneret

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use spinneret in a sentence

Scientists cannot yet copy the web-spinning action of a spider’s spinnerets.
Bacteria make ‘spider silk’ that’s stronger than steel | Manasee Wagh | October 27, 2021 | Science News For Students
The following are magnified figures of the spinneret of the Cossus, from Lyonnet.
Insect Architecture | James Rennie
The silk comes from a spinneret which is just behind the jaws and is about the color of thin starch paste.
Book of Monsters | David Fairchild and Marian Hubbard (Bell) Fairchild
It is truncated, wide open and supplied with a membranous partition, the work of the spinneret.
The Life of the Fly | J. Henri Fabre
Spin′nerule, one of the tubules of a spinneret; Spin′nery, a spinning-mill.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) | Various

The thread, as a matter of fact, does not flow from the spinneret; it is drawn thence with a certain effort.
The Life of the Spider | J. Henri Fabre

British Dictionary definitions for spinneret

spinneret

/ (ˈspɪnəˌrɛt) /

noun

any of several organs in spiders and certain insects through which silk threads are exuded
a finely perforated dispenser through which a viscous liquid is extruded in the production of synthetic fibres

Origin of spinneret

C18: from spinner + -et

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

Scientific definitions for spinneret

spinneret

[ spĭn′ə-rĕt′ ]

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.

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