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cobweb Definition

cob·web (käbweb′)

noun

  1. a web spun by a spider, esp. one spun indoors that has gathered dust
  2. a single thread of such a web
  3. anything flimsy, gauzy, or ensnaring, like the web of a spider

Etymology: ME copweb < coppe, spider (< OE -coppe, in atorcoppe < ator, poison + -coppe, spider; prob. akin to cop, cop) + web

transitive verb -·webbed′, -·web′·bing

to cover with or as with cobwebs

cobweb Related Forms

cob·web′by adjective

cobweb Synonyms

cobweb

n.

  1. A spider's web

    filament, gossamer, extrusive threads; see fiber 1, web 1.

  2. A network

    snare, labyrinth, entanglement; see net, web 2.

cobweb Telecom Definition

From the Middle English coppeweb, meaning spider web. Coppe is an abbreviation of the Old English attercoppe, meaning poison head. In contemporary usage, an abandoned spider web. This definition has absolutely nothing to do with telecommunications, except for the fact that I noticed a cobweb in my office while I was writing this book, and I was compelled to research the term. (It was one more diversionary tactic of mine. The alternatives were load coil, SMDS, and ytterbium.) See also World Wide Web (WWW).

cobweb Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • remove: Have your furniture and carpets professionally cleaned, remove cobwebs from the ceiling corners, remove dust from under the bed.
  • blow: The Special Session is also blowing cobwebs off outdated UN ways of doing business.
  • have: This also means the shore fishing has been a bit neglected - I think my rock rods have cobwebs on at the moment.
  • weave: Bare boughs from the trees weave a cobweb of branches against the pale wintry sky.
  • clean: He said the hose extension knocked him down his stairs as he tried to clean cobwebs.
  • gather: Dust and cobwebs gathered in the kitchen, and darkness fell over the farm as the money ran out in the meters.

Adjective modifier

  • old: Drive away old cobwebs with gray hairs turning white on my scalp.
  • dusty: But alas, by the time they had finished climbing through the tree, it was completely draped with their dusty, gray cobwebs.
  • huge: The public areas of the house are distinctly shabby and threadbare, with huge cobwebs and dust everywhere.
  • vast: According to Simon Jenkins in the Times, Gordon Brown and I sit at the heart of a " vast cobweb " of targets.

Modifies a noun

  • theory: Specifically, the student will be able to: Acquire knowledge of the cobweb theory.
  • solution: Cobweb Solutions Limited was formed in 1996 to provide hosted services to small and medium sized businesses.
  • effect: I also had this cobweb effect in front of my vision.
  • theorem: An example of a dynamic model is the cobweb theorem.
  • scarves: Beautifully designed cobweb lace scarves for the most discerning customers - featuring all-over Shetland lace patterns.
  • lace: Beautifully designed cobweb lace scarves for the most discerning customers - featuring all-over Shetland lace patterns.

Noun used with modifier

morning: He saw from the unbroken early morning cobwebs across the roads east and west, that no one had passed along there.

Possessives

spider: It looks like the beginning of a spider's cobweb, hence the name of this approach.

Preposition: from

ceiling: Remove cobwebs from the ceiling, wipe down walls and skirting boards, clean cupboards inside and out, leave no area untouched.

Browse dictionary entries near cobweb

  1. Coburg
  2. cobra de capello
  3. cobra
  4. COBOL
  5. cobnut
  6. Coblenz
  7. coble
  8. cobia
  9. Cobham
  10. cobelligerent
  1. coca
  2. cocaine
  3. cocainism
  4. cocainize
  5. -coccal
  6. cocci
  7. coccid
  8. coccidioidomycosis
  9. coccidiosis
  10. -coccoid