black widow


noun
  1. a venomous spider, Latrodectus mactans, widely distributed in the U.S., the female of which is jet-black with an hourglass-shaped red mark on the underside of its abdomen.

Origin of black widow

1
First recorded in 1910–15

Words Nearby black widow

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use black widow in a sentence

  • I should like you to have about four black widow's caps, just such as I had made in the fall in New York, sent to me.

    Behind the Scenes | Elizabeth Keckley
  • At last there came out into the quarter-gallery a very pretty lady, in deep black widow's weeds, and in her arms a baby.

    The Water-Babies | Charles Kingsley
  • A round old lady tied up in a sanctified black widow's bonnet stood on the step.

    A Circuit Rider's Wife | Corra Harris

British Dictionary definitions for black widow

black widow

noun
  1. an American spider, Latrodectus mactans, the female of which is black with red markings, highly venomous, and commonly eats its mate

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