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)

cobwebbed, cobwebbing 

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

Other Word Forms

• cobwebbed adjective
• cobwebby 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

So can England wipe away the cobwebs and produce a solid defensive display?

From BBC

"It's like a cobweb. It just affects every single friend, family, child, you know, connected to you."

From BBC

Our music correspondent Mark Savage said the performance "blew off the cobwebs and swept away the doubters" in his review of the night.

From BBC

Oasis blew off the cobwebs and swept away the doubters as they kicked off their reunion tour in Cardiff.

From BBC

To make matters worse, Sergei was frequently sent to a punishment cell - for a mark on the wall or a stray cobweb.

From BBC

When To Use

What does cobweb mean?

Cobweb is another word for a spider web. But cobweb is most commonly used to refer to the kind of dusty old spider webs that hang in the corners of places that haven’t been used or cleaned in a long time, like attics and abandoned houses.For that reason, cobweb is often used in expressions like clean out the cobwebs, meaning to do something to clear your mind or make it function normally again, perhaps after a period of inactivity or confusion.Cobweb can also be used as a verb, meaning to cover in cobwebs, as in No one had entered the study for years, and spiders had cobwebbed the entire bookcase.Example: The abandoned house was dusty and full of cobwebs.