web

[ web ]

/ wɛb /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR web ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

something formed by or as if by weaving or interweaving.

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

Textiles.

a woven fabric, especially a whole piece of cloth in the course of being woven or after it comes from the loom.
the flat woven strip, without pile, often found at one or both ends of an Oriental rug.

something resembling woven material, especially something having an interlaced or latticelike appearance: He looked up at the web of branches of the old tree.

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?

something that snares or entangles; a trap: innocent travelers caught in the web of international terrorism.

webbing.

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

Ornithology.

the series of barbs on each side of the shaft of a feather.
the series on both sides, collectively.

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.

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

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

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

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

Informal. a network of radio or television broadcasting stations.

(sometimes initial capital letter) Computers. World Wide Web. (usually preceded by the).

verb (used with object), webbed, web·bing.

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

to ensnare or entrap.

verb (used without object), webbed, web·bing.

to make or form a web.

Nearby words

Origin of web

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

SYNONYMS FOR web

5. network, tissue, tangle, maze.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR web ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsweb·less, adjectiveweb·like, adjective

Word story

16. See Internet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for web

He was referring to web censorship behind the Great Firewall.
China’s Internet Is Freer Than You Think|Brendon Hong|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The caller mentioned my work, which focused primarily on consumer products, mobile apps, emerging start-ups, and web trends.
A Female Writer’s New Milestone: Her First Death Threat|Annie Gaus|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
White-bread ISIS recruits, culled from the wastelands of Web 2.0, call that tidy division into terrible question.
The FBI’s Bogus ISIS Bust|James Poulos|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Daily Beast picks the best journalism from around the web this week.
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, Nov 10-16, 2014|William Boot|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The reality star bared her infamous behind on the cover of Paper magazine, and the web went wild.
Kim Kardashian Bares Her Shiny, Bounteous Butt, Breaks the Internet|Marlow Stern|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In captivity, having no web, it actually flees before its prey, and has not the resolution to confront a fly.
The Insect|Jules Michelet
She brought the ladle over the rim of the sieve and lowered it until it all but touched the middle of the web.
The Unwilling Vestal|Edward Lucas White
The story of the Nibelungenlied, however, is not a chain but a web.
The Epic|Lascelles Abercrombie
Here, then, was a web strangely woven by the fingers of a wayward fate.
The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume IV.|Various
Babette became more and more interesting, wrapped round in a web of romance.
Fairy Tales from the German Forests|Margaret Arndt

British Dictionary definitions for web

web

/ (wɛb) /

noun

any structure, construction, fabric, etc, formed by or as if by weaving or interweavingRelated adjective: retiary

a mesh of fine tough scleroprotein threads built by a spider from a liquid secreted from its spinnerets and used to trap insectsSee also cobweb (def. 1)

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

a fabric, esp one in the process of being woven

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

the vane of a bird's feather

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

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

any web-shaped part of a casting used for reinforcement

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

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

a continuous strip of paper as formed on a paper machine or fed from a reel into some printing presses
(as modifier)web offset; a web press

the woven edge, without pile, of some carpets

the web (often capital) short for World Wide Web
(as modifier)a web site; web pages

any structure, construction, etc, that is intricately formed or complexa web of intrigue

verb webs, webbing or webbed

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

(tr) to entangle or ensnare

(intr) to construct a web

Derived Formswebless, adjectiveweblike, adjective

Word Origin for web

Old English webb; related to Old Saxon, Old High German webbi, Old Norse vefr

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

Word Origin and History for web

web

Old English webb "woven fabric," from Proto-Germanic *wabjam "fabric, web" (cf. Old Saxon webbi, Old Norse vefr, Dutch webbe, Old High German weppi, German gewebe "web"), from PIE *webh- "to weave" (see weave (v.)).

Meaning "spider's web" is first recorded early 13c. Applied to the membranes between the toes of ducks and other aquatic birds from 1570s. Internet sense is from 1992, shortened from World Wide Web (1990). Web browser, web page both also attested 1990.

Medicine definitions for web

web

[ wĕb ]

n.

A membrane or fold of skin connecting the toes, as of certain mammals.

A structure of delicate, threadlike filaments characteristically spun by spiders.

Science definitions for web

web

[ wĕb ]

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.

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.

also Web The World Wide Web.

Culture definitions for web

Web

See Internet.

web

noun

verb (used with object), webbed, web·bing.

verb (used without object), webbed, web·bing.

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Origin of web

Word story

Examples from the Web for web

web

noun

verb webs, webbing or webbed

Word Origin for web

web

web

n.

web

Web