tarantula

[ tuh-ran-chuh-luh ]

/ təˈræn tʃə lə /

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noun, plural ta·ran·tu·las, ta·ran·tu·lae

[tuh-ran-chuh-lee]. /təˈræn tʃəˌli/.

any of several large, hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae, as Aphonopelma chalcodes, of the southwestern U.S., having a painful but not highly venomous bite.

any of various related spiders.

a large wolf spider, Lycosa tarantula, of southern Europe, having a bite once thought to be the cause of tarantism.

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Origin of tarantula

1555–65; <Medieval Latin <Italian tarantola.See Taranto, -ule

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH tarantula

tarantella, tarantula

Words nearby tarantula

tarantass, tarantella, Tarantino, tarantism, Taranto, tarantula, Tarantula nebula, Tarapoto, Tararua biscuit, Tarascan, Tarasco

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tarantula in a sentence

“Often a tarantula tries to catch the snake by the head and will hold on in spite of all efforts of the snake to shake him off,” says Nyffeler.
Spiders can take down and feast on surprisingly big snakes|Asher Jones|July 26, 2021|Science News For Students
Spiders such as tarantulas have a different tactic for catching snakes.
Spiders can take down and feast on surprisingly big snakes|Asher Jones|July 26, 2021|Science News For Students
The tarantula, like many other members of the spider family, is an expert in the making of burrows.
The Wonder Book of Knowledge|Various
The Tarantula is in her own house, with all its conveniences; every nook and corner of the bastion is familiar to her.
More Hunting Wasps|J. Henri Fabre

The natives of the island hold the old tradition of the ancients, that one bitten by a tarantula will dance himself to death.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 15, No. 87, March, 1875|Various
Have you ever seen, by-the-bye, that extraordinary Highland tarantula called the reel of Tullich?
The Rivers of Great Britain: Rivers of the East Coast|Various
The tarantula spider is a relation of the six-footed farmers, you should know, although he is not an insect himself.
The Adventures of a Grain of Dust|Hallam Hawksworth

British Dictionary definitions for tarantula

tarantula

/ (təˈræntjʊlə) /

noun plural -las or -lae (-ˌliː)

any of various large hairy mostly tropical spiders of the American family Theraphosidae

a large hairy spider, Lycosa tarentula of S Europe, the bite of which was formerly thought to cause tarantism

Word Origin for tarantula

C16: from Medieval Latin, from Old Italian tarantola, from Taranto

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

Medical definitions for tarantula

tarantula

[ tə-răn′chə-lə ]

n. pl. ta•ran•tu•las

Any of various large, hairy, chiefly tropical spiders of the family Theraphosidae, capable of inflicting a painful but not seriously poisonous bite.

tarantula

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Origin of tarantula

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH tarantula

Words nearby tarantula

Words related to tarantula

How to use tarantula in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tarantula

Word Origin for tarantula

Medical definitions for tarantula