tarantula
Americannoun
plural
tarantulas, tarantulae-
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.
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any of various related spiders.
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a large wolf spider, Lycosa tarantula, of southern Europe, having a bite once thought to be the cause of tarantism.
noun
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any of various large hairy mostly tropical spiders of the American family Theraphosidae
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a large hairy spider, Lycosa tarentula of S Europe, the bite of which was formerly thought to cause tarantism
Etymology
Origin of tarantula
1555–65; < Medieval Latin < Italian tarantola. See Taranto, -ule
Compare meaning
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Explanation
A tarantula is a hairy, poisonous, black spider. Although they are furry and some people keep them as pets, you probably don't want to cuddle up to one. Tarantulas are found primarily in subtropical South America. Their leg spans can range from three to twelve inches, which means that a very big tarantula is about as wide as a cowboy hat! While their bites are poisonous, you won't die from tarantula venom, unless the bite gets infected.
Vocabulary lists containing tarantula
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for September 10–September 16, 2022
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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.
Researchers have identified four previously unknown tarantula species in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, and they turned out to be far more unusual than expected.
From Science Daily • Apr. 6, 2026
When I opened up the cover, it was a dead tarantula.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
Typically, a spooked tarantula will try to run and hide, said Lisa Gonzalez, program manager of invertebrate living collections at the county Natural History Museum.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2025
The county’s most common variety is the California ebony tarantula, or Aphonopelma eutylenum, which can range from light beige to their namesake color.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2025
He held the flashlight for me so I could sneak up on any holes I had found earlier in the day, thinking they might be tarantula burrows.
From "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
