cobweb

[ kob-web ]

noun

1. a web spun by a spider to entrap its prey.
2. a single thread spun by a spider.
3. something resembling a cobweb; anything finespun, flimsy, or insubstantial.
4. a network of plot or intrigue; an insidious snare.
5. cobwebs, confusion, indistinctness, or lack of order:

   I'm so tired my head is full of cobwebs.

verb (used with object)

, cob·webbed, cob·web·bing.

1. to cover with or as with cobwebs:

   Spiders cobwebbed the cellar.

2. to confuse or muddle:

   Drunkenness cobwebbed his mind.

cobweb

/ ˈkɒbˌwɛb /

noun

1. a web spun by certain spiders, esp those of the family Theridiidae, often found in the corners of disused rooms
2. a single thread of such a web
3. something like a cobweb, as in its flimsiness or ability to trap

Derived Forms

• ˈcobˌwebbed, adjective
• ˈcobˌwebby, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cobweb¹

1275–1325; Middle English coppeweb, derivative of Old English -coppe spider (in ātorcoppe poison spider); cognate with Middle Dutch koppe; web

Word History and Origins

Origin of cobweb¹

C14 cob, from coppe, from Old English ( ātor ) coppe spider; related to Middle Dutch koppe spider, Swedish (dialect) etterkoppa

Example Sentences

Before the space-warrior saga, she traversed the Spider-Verse with cobweb and spider detailing on her “Spider-Man” press tour ensembles.

From Los Angeles Times

“Cobweb,” directed by Kim Jee-woon, mines the comically absurd reality that is filmmaking, at times with bouncy cinematic verve, at others somewhat aimlessly and a little too indulgently.

From New York Times

Personalities clash and antics ensue, as the movie set becomes as much of a soap opera as the movie they’re making, whose scenes are cut into “Cobweb” throughout.

From New York Times

Even if “Cobweb” often feels like it’s a film that is telling itself its own industry insider joke — poking fun at the competing, wounded egos of directors, actors and studio brass — Kim Jee-woon captures it all with a sleekly choreographed charm that keeps us along for the ride.

From New York Times

Eventually we feel a little trapped in the sound stage ourselves, as “Cobweb” falls victim, ironically, to its own punchline — becoming a movie that is too obsessed with itself.

From New York Times