spi|der

spi|der
spi|der «SPY duhr», noun.
1. a) a small animal with eight legs and no wings. Spiders belong to the class of arachnids. Most kinds produce a silky thread for spinning webs to catch insects for food, and for making cocoons and nests. b) any one of various similar arachnids, such as a harvestman (daddy longlegs).
2. Figurative: »

He was one of the kind sports call a spider, All wiry arms and legs (Robert Frost).

3. a kind of frying pan, originally one with short legs.
4. U.S. a frame with three legs to support a pot or pan over a fire.
5. a device for pulverizing the soil, to be attached to a cultivator.
6. a highly flexible fiber ring which centers the voice coil of a loudspeaker.
╂[Middle English spither, unrecorded Old English spīthra < spinnan to spin]
–spi´der|like´, adjective.

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • spi|der|y — «SPY duhr ee», adjective. 1. like the legs of a spider; long and thin: »a person with spidery arms. 2. suggesting a spider web or cobweb. 3. full of, or infested with, spiders: »a spidery attic …   Useful english dictionary

  • spi´der|like´ — spi|der «SPY duhr», noun. 1. a) a small animal with eight legs and no wings. Spiders belong to the class of arachnids. Most kinds produce a silky thread for spinning webs to catch insects for food, and for making cocoons and nests. b) any one of… …   Useful english dictionary

  • spi|der|let — «SPY duhr liht», noun. = spiderling. (Cf. ↑spiderling) …   Useful english dictionary

  • spi|der|ling — «SPY duhr lihng», noun. a little or young spider …   Useful english dictionary

  • spi|der|man — «SPY duhr MAN, muhn», noun, plural men. Especially British. a construction worker who erects the steel framework of a tall building: »The four wings, assembled by competing teams of French and Belgian spidermen, are suspended from giant steel… …   Useful english dictionary

  • spi|der|wort — «SPY duhr WURT», noun. any one of a genus of erect or trailing plants that bear clusters of blue, purple, or white flowers. One trailing species takes root at the knots of its stems …   Useful english dictionary

  • spi|der|web — spider web, or spi|der|web «SPY duhr WEHB», noun. 1. the web spun by a spider; cobweb. 2. Figurative. any design or construction of interwoven lines or parts similar to a spider web: »Driving a rented car from Tempelhof Airport…I soon became lost …   Useful english dictionary

  • spi|der-web — spider web, or spi|der|web «SPY duhr WEHB», noun. 1. the web spun by a spider; cobweb. 2. Figurative. any design or construction of interwoven lines or parts similar to a spider web: »Driving a rented car from Tempelhof Airport…I soon became lost …   Useful english dictionary

  • spi·der — /ˈspaıdɚ/ noun, pl ders [count] : a small creature that has eight legs and usually creates a web of sticky threads in which it catches insects for food We watched the spider spin its web …   Useful english dictionary

  • spi·der web — /ˈspaıdɚˌwɛb/ noun, pl ⋯ webs [count] US : a network of sticky threads made by a spider and used as a resting place and a trap for food called also spider s web, web compare ↑cobweb …   Useful english dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”