trap-door spider

American  

noun

1. any of several burrowing spiders, of the family Ctenizidae, that construct a tubular nest with a hinged lid.

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trap-door spider British  

noun

1. any of various spiders of the family Ctenizidae that construct a silk-lined hole in the ground closed by a hinged door of earth and silk

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Etymology

Origin of trap-door spider

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trap-door spider

It is called the trap-door spider, from the curious way in which it protects the entrance to its nest.

From Wild Nature Won By Kindness by Brightwen, Elizabeth

Just what natural enemy the trap-door spider has I do not know.

From Under the Maples by Burroughs, John

The Trap-door Spider.—One of the most singular specimens of insect life is the trap-door spider of Jamaica.

From Harper's Young People, December 9, 1879 An Illustrated Weekly by Various

Consider the ways and means of the ant-lion of the East, and the trap-door spider of the western desert regions.

From The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals A Book of Personal Observations by Hornaday, William Temple

Many tell us that the tarantula has a lid on the top of his house, but this is incorrect, as that belongs to the trap-door spider.

From A Truthful Woman in Southern California by Sanborn, Kate