spider

[ spahy-der ]
See synonyms for spider on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. any of numerous predaceous arachnids of the order Araneae, most of which spin webs that serve as nests and as traps for prey.

  2. (loosely) any of various other arachnids resembling or suggesting these.

  1. any of various things resembling or suggesting a spider.

  2. a frying pan, originally one with legs or feet.

  3. a trivet or tripod, as for supporting a pot or pan on a hearth.

  4. Machinery.

    • a part having a number of radiating spokes or arms, usually not connected at their outer ends.

    • Also called cross. (in a universal joint) a crosslike part pivoted between the forked ends of two shafts to transmit motion between them.

  5. Digital Technology. a computer program that follows and catalogs links within websites in order to index web pages for a search engine.: Compare web crawler.

  6. an evil person who entraps or lures others by wiles.

  7. a device attached to a cultivator, for pulverizing the soil.

verb (used with object)
  1. Digital Technology. to digitally survey (websites), following and cataloging their links in order to index web pages for a search engine: Her company spiders the web for cheap flights and vacation deals.: Compare crawl1 (def. 9).

Origin of spider

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English spithre, Old English spīthra, akin to spinnan “to spin”; cognate with Danish spinder. See spin

Other words from spider

  • spi·der·less, adjective
  • spi·der·like, adjective

Words Nearby spider

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

How to use spider in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for spider

spider

/ (ˈspaɪdə) /


noun
  1. any predatory silk-producing arachnid of the order Araneae, having four pairs of legs and a rounded unsegmented body consisting of abdomen and cephalothorax: See also wolf spider, trap-door spider, tarantula, black widow

  2. any of various similar or related arachnids

  1. a hub fitted with radiating spokes or arms that serve to transmit power or support a load

  2. agriculture an instrument used with a cultivator to pulverize soil

  3. any implement or tool having the shape of a spider

  4. nautical a metal frame fitted at the base of a mast to which halyards are tied when not in use

  5. any part of a machine having a number of radiating spokes, tines, or arms

  6. Also called: octopus British a cluster of elastic straps fastened at a central point and used to hold a load on a car rack, motorcycle, etc

  7. billiards snooker a rest having long legs, used to raise the cue above the level of the height of the ball

  8. angling an artificial fly tied with a hackle and no wings, perhaps originally thought to imitate a spider

  9. computing a computer program that is capable of performing sophisticated recursive searches on the internet

  10. short for spider phaeton

Origin of spider

1
Old English spīthra; related to Danish spinder, German Spinne; see spin

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