wolf spider

American

noun

any of numerous ground spiders of the family Lycosidae, including the southern European tarantula, Lycosa taretula, that hunt their prey instead of using a web.

wolf spider British

noun

Also called: hunting spider. any spider of the family Lycosidae, which chase their prey to catch it

"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

Etymology

Origin of wolf spider

First recorded in 1600–10

Compare meaning

How does wolf-spider compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

wolf spider vs. tarantula

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.

Just in time for Halloween — the white-knuckled wolf spider is back.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 30, 2025

The team that found the tiny orange-legged arachnid has informally named it the white-knuckled wolf spider.

From BBC • Oct. 30, 2025

Biologists in UC's College of Arts and Sciences studied Schizocosa ocreata, a wolf spider found across much of the United States.

From Science Daily • Jan. 17, 2024

Researchers ran courtship trials withmembers of the diverse, global genus Schizocosa, using a group of four quarter-size wolf spider species collected in Florida, Nebraska, and Mississippi.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 21, 2023

Then a wolf spider, startling in size and hairiness, streaked over the gravel, either chasing something smaller or being chased by something bigger, I couldn’t tell which.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023