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• web
  web

  noun

  something formed by or as if by weaving or interweaving.
• Web
  Web

  See Internet.

web

American  

[web] / wɛb /

noun

1. something formed by or as if by weaving or interweaving.

2. a thin, silken material spun by spiders and the larvae of some insects, as the webworms and tent caterpillars; cobweb.

3. Textiles.

   1. a woven fabric, especially a whole piece of cloth in the course of being woven or after it comes from the loom.

   2. the flat woven strip, without pile, often found at one or both ends of an Oriental rug.

4. something resembling woven material, especially something having an interlaced or latticelike appearance.

   He looked up at the web of branches of the old tree.

5. an intricate set or pattern of circumstances, facts, etc..

   The thief was convicted by a web of evidence. Who can understand the web of life?

   Synonyms:

   snare, maze, tangle, tissue, network

6. something that snares or entangles; a trap.

   innocent travelers caught in the web of international terrorism.

7. webbing.

8. Zoology. a membrane that connects the digits of an animal, as the toes of aquatic birds.

9. Ornithology.

   1. the series of barbs on each side of the shaft of a feather.

   2. the series on both sides, collectively.

10. an integral or separate part of a beam, rail, truss, or the like, that forms a continuous, flat, narrow, rigid connection between two stronger, broader parallel parts, as the flanges of a structural shape, the head and foot of a rail, or the upper and lower chords of a truss.

11. Machinery. an arm of a crank, usually one of a pair, holding one end of a crankpin at its outer end.

12. Architecture. (in a vault) any surface framed by ribbing.

13. a large roll of paper, as for continuous feeding of a web press.

14. a network of interlinked stations, services, communications, etc., covering a region or country.

15. Informal. a network of radio or television broadcasting stations.

16. Digital Technology. Sometimes Web World Wide Web (preceded by the, except when used before a noun).

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verb (used with object)

• webs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• webbed,
  past participle,  past
• webbing
  present participle

1. to cover with or as if with a web; envelop.

2. to ensnare or entrap.

verb (used without object)

• webs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• webbed,
  past participle,  past
• webbing
  present participle

1. to make or form a web.

web British  

/ wɛb /

noun

1. any structure, construction, fabric, etc, formed by or as if by weaving or interweaving

2. a mesh of fine tough scleroprotein threads built by a spider from a liquid secreted from its spinnerets and used to trap insects See also cobweb

3. a similar network of threads spun by certain insect larvae, such as the silkworm

4. a fabric, esp one in the process of being woven

5. a membrane connecting the toes of some aquatic birds or the digits of such aquatic mammals as the otter

6. the vane of a bird's feather

7. architect the surface of a ribbed vault that lies between the ribs

8. the central section of an I-beam or H-beam that joins the two flanges of the beam

9. any web-shaped part of a casting used for reinforcement

10. the radial portion of a crank that connects the crankpin to the crankshaft

11. a thin piece of superfluous material left attached to a forging; fin

12. 1. a continuous strip of paper as formed on a paper machine or fed from a reel into some printing presses

    2. ( as modifier )

       web offset

       a web press

13. the woven edge, without pile, of some carpets

14. 1. (often capital) short for World Wide Web

    2. ( as modifier )

       a web site

       web pages

15. any structure, construction, etc, that is intricately formed or complex

    a web of intrigue

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verb

1. (tr) to cover with or as if with a web

2. (tr) to entangle or ensnare

3. (intr) to construct a web

web Scientific  

/ wĕb /

1. A structure of fine, elastic, threadlike filaments characteristically spun by spiders to catch insect prey. The larvae of certain insects also weave webs that serve as protective shelters for feeding and may include leaves or other plant parts.

2. A membrane or fold of skin connecting the toes in certain animals, especially ones that swim, such as water birds and otters. The web improves the ability of the foot to push against water.

3. The World Wide Web.

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Web Cultural  

1. See Internet.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• webless
  adjective
• weblike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• webbing
  present
• webbed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• web
  simple
• webs
  simple
• have webbed
  perfect
• has webbed
  perfect
• am webbing
  progressive
• are webbing
  progressive
• is webbing
  progressive
• have been webbing
  perfect progressive
• has been webbing
  perfect progressive

Past

• webbed
  simple
• had webbed
  perfect
• was webbing
  progressive
• were webbing
  progressive
• had been webbing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will web
  simple
• will have webbed
  perfect
• will be webbing
  progressive
• will have been webbing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of web

First recorded before 900; Middle English (noun), Old English; cognate with Dutch, Low German webbe, Old Norse vefr; akin to weave

Explanation

A web is a sticky pattern of threads woven by a spider, or something similar that appears to be woven together. Your little sister might weave a web of yarn into a potholder. Some webs are literally woven — of thread, yarn, ropes, or any other strands of material. Other webs are more figurative, like the web of connections between people who work in the same field or the web of rules and regulations attached to filing your income tax return. There's also the World Wide Web, known as the Internet or just "the Web," named this way because it's a web-like series of interconnected documents and links.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

web Web webs webbed webbing

But as OpenAI rolled out products from video creation to web browsers, Anthropic aimed far more narrowly, focusing on building the best platform for computer programmers.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

Writers who remained employed on this hollowed-out web were increasingly left wondering where all their favorite haunts had gone.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

The web of supply chains that spans the continent allows for joint production across all three countries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

I had met a few people in the early web days who’d sold their show to producers and networks, only to have them buried in development hell and never be seen again.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Luckily, though, the exchange gives me enough time to get a good hold on the akrafena and cut through Nansi’s web.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

The social media age — sometimes dubbed Web 2.0 to distinguish it from the less openly interactive earlier era of the internet — seemed to supercharge this impromptu rezoning of the information superhighway.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

Amazon Web Services could “very possibly” become a business that does $1 trillion in annual revenue, Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy said recently.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026

Viewers can tune in through ESA Web TV or ESA's YouTube channel beginning at 1:30 p.m.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

McQuade is a former employee at the open-source AI platform Hugging Face who previously rose from field technician to Amazon Web Services team lead at Unity Connected Solutions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

Kathy had started a Web site for me and asked me to write “copy” for it.

From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen

Peter’s only physical connection to humanity is via webs and fists.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

As apex predators, great white sharks occupy the top levels of marine food webs.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026

Alongside covering roads in huge nets to stop drone attacks, both Russia and Ukraine have fired thousands of tethered fibre-optic attack drones -- with the webs of discarded cables stretching for dozens of kilometres.

From Barron's ● May 20, 2026

They spin a variety of amazing webs, from the typical orb web, with its hub-and-spoke pattern, to funnel-like tube webs and sheet webs that can drape over an entire landscape like a shroud.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

Ama is suddenly behind me, using force fields to stop Nansi’s hungry webs from getting to me.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

An amphibious mouse with webbed feet and a blob-headed fish are among 27 new species scientists have discovered in Peru.

From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2024

Sindle, less than 5 feet tall with curly blond hair, was born with a birth defect, toes that were partly fused together, giving her feet a webbed appearance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2024

LaJoie estimated the webbed glove was worth three counts of drag for Logano.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2024

Back in the forest, a Wallace’s flying frog sprang from a tree—its spindly legs and webbed toes spread-eagle—seeming more bat than amphibian.

From National Geographic ● Jan. 23, 2024

The leader didn’t stop moving until they reached a huge bus, its sides dented and scarred, most of the windows webbed with cracks.

From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner

The local authority advised people not to be concerned about the "harmless" white webbing seen in trees in Belle Isle Park, Exeter, caused by an infestation of caterpillars.

From BBC ● May 13, 2026

B-net is temporary and closer to webbing that’s aimed at absorbing the kinetic energy of a falling skier.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2026

Many spiders use their webbing to create balloons or parachutes that allow them to float away — sometimes traveling many miles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2023

Appropriately for the season, the clumps of real webbing look very similar to the fake webbing used in Halloween decorations.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 5, 2023

“Not great,” Autumn replies, before taking her sword from Woo and slicing down another languid strand of webbing.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Related Words

• net
• network
• screen