n. 1. a. A spiderweb, especially an old one that is covered in dust. b. A single thread spun by a spider. 2. Something resembling a spiderweb in gauziness or flimsiness: "An extraordinary number of elegant ladies ... flowed in, heels clicking, diamonds flashing, adjusting tiny cobwebs of priceless lace on immaculate coiffures" (Jane Stevenson). 3. An intricate plot; a snare: caught in a cobweb of espionage and intrigue. 4. cobwebs Confusion; disorder: cobwebs on the brain. tr.v. cob·webbed, cob·web·bing, cob·webs To cover with or as if with cobwebs. [Middle English coppeweb : coppe, spider (short for attercoppe, from Old English āttercoppe : ātor, poison + copp, head) + web, web; see WEB.] cobweb′by adj. |
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