tarantula
Americannoun
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tarantulas,
plural
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tarantulae
plural
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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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tarantula
1555–65; < Medieval Latin < Italian tarantola. See Taranto, -ule
Compare meaning
How does tarantula compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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
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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.
See Examples For:
There were questions over whether he was allowed to keep the tarantula in the Houses of Parliament.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
Sir Gavin Williamson has said his pet tarantula, who once lived on his desk in the Houses of Parliament and Ministry of Defence, has died.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
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
“Listen, we’re going down the middle of the train — Lee Jordan’s got a giant tarantula down there.”
From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
Management called out tarantulas as “a newer pet trend” in the U.S.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
"The males of these spiders have the longest palps among all known tarantulas," Dr. Zamani says.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 6, 2026
I’m a Texan, so I’ve been around tarantulas my whole life, I knew what it was.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
That included live snakes, tarantulas and lovebirds found hidden in vehicles stopped at the UK border.
From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2025
But that was that, no tarantulas, no mangos, no lizards, no spirits, no flesh-and-blood people.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
