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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

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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

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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

Many have legitimate, beneficial uses, like archiving web data.

From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026

The profits from Abramovich's oil deals in Russia were funnelled into a web of offshore companies.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Set between 2019 and 2021, Sorkin’s film stares down the dawn of a new decade, preparing for the birth of our current web of chaos, cruelty and thinly veiled deceit.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

OpenAI, which is planning to go public as soon as next year, continues to grapple with other safety issues, such as having its models escape contained environments to hack into other companies and web platforms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

He snaps his fingers, and a stone tablet slides down the web and into his hands.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Amazon Web Services gave Decart early access to the chip in 2025 after meeting with the company and being impressed by its founders, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

It’s not clear whether he is the author of inflammatory comments on the Web.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Teaming up with Amazon, the CEO added, would allow Delta to build on its use of Amazon Web Services and to take advantage of Amazon’s capabilities in retailing, gaming and video.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

The inquiry concerned Google's processing of location data in three specific features - Web & App Activity, Location History and Location Accuracy between 25 May 2018 to 4 February 2020.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

There are firms, for example, that post new songs on the Web and then collect and analyze the ratings of anyone who visits the Website and listens to the music.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

In some frontline Ukrainian cities, nets are hung high and wide across long stretches of road, forming corridors like spiders' webs to thwart aerial attacks.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

They form webs of businesses without storefronts that are owned by other businesses, passing vast sums of money back and forth and even overseas with minimal oversight.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

About the 10th or 12th time Spidey defeats a gaggle of adversaries by wrapping them up in webs, this series seems entangled in its own predictability.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

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

From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026

“Why should I thank you? You drag me up into the ceiling, through a heating vent, crawling through spider webs in the dark, across all these hard boards saying, ‘Don’t put your knee there!

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

The revolution will not be televised, but it might have webbed feet and bulging eyes.

From BBC ● Dec. 27, 2025

According to her testimony in court records, police had told Napoletano, falsely, that webbed footprints had been found at one of the crime scenes, footprints that could have been left by Sindle’s webbed feet.

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

He could no longer use his webbed hands to propel himself forward; he worked his flippers furiously, but Ron and Fleur’s sister were like potato-filled sacks dragging him back down.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

It involves wearing a special suit with webbing to allow mid-air lift.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

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

Yamamoto will wear a custom-made glove featuring the Japanese flag on the outside of the webbing.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2024

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

“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

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