What does "web" mean?
The silken structure which a spider builds using silk secreted from the spinnerets at the caudal tip of its abdomen; a spiderweb.
Web
/wɛb/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The silken structure which a spider builds using silk secreted from the spinnerets at the caudal tip of its abdomen; a spiderweb.
- Grammar: web is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: network, world wide web, anatomy, animal fiber.
- Useful contrasts: destroy, gopher, independence.
- Usage evidence: More than 90 percent of visits to a web page are from search engines.
How to use "web"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "web" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "web" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "web" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "web" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "web" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "network" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "web", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The silken structure which a spider builds using silk secreted from the spinnerets at the caudal tip of its abdomen; a spiderweb.
"The sunlight glistened in the dew on the web."
- 2 the flattened weblike part of a feather consisting of a series of barbs on either side of the shaft wordnet
- 3 Any interconnected set of persons, places, or things, which, when diagrammed, resembles a spider's web. broadly
"The time of his birth, his birth-place, his parentage, are all involved in obscurity; and such has been the perplexing ingenuity of commentators, that it is difficult to extricate the truth from the web of conjectures with which it is interwoven."
- 4 membrane connecting the toes of some aquatic birds and mammals wordnet
- 5 The part of a baseball mitt between the forefinger and thumb, the webbing.
"He caught the ball in the web."
Show 24 more definitions
- 6 an intricate trap that entangles or ensnares its victim wordnet
- 7 A latticed or woven structure.
"The gazebo’s roof was a web made of thin strips of wood."
- 8 a fabric (especially a fabric in the process of being woven) wordnet
- 9 A tall tale with more complexity than a myth or legend. usually
"Careful—she knows how to spin a good web, but don't lean too hard on what she says."
- 10 computer network consisting of a collection of internet sites that offer text and graphics and sound and animation resources through the hypertext transfer protocol wordnet
- 11 A plot or scheme.
- 12 an interconnected system of things or people wordnet
- 13 The interconnection between flanges in structural members, increasing the effective lever arm and so the load capacity of the member.
- 14 an intricate network suggesting something that was formed by weaving or interweaving wordnet
- 15 The thinner vertical section of a railway rail between the top (head) and bottom (foot) of the rail.
- 16 A fold of tissue connecting the toes of certain birds, or of other animals.
- 17 The series of barbs implanted on each side of the shaft of a feather, whether stiff and united together by barbules, as in ordinary feathers, or soft and separate, as in downy feathers.
- 18 A continuous strip of material carried by rollers during processing.
- 19 A long sheet of paper which is fed from a roll into a printing press, as opposed to individual sheets of paper.
- 20 A seventeenth-century unit of Rhenish glass containing 60 bunches. obsolete
- 21 A band of webbing used to regulate the extension of the hood of a carriage. dated
- 22 A thin metal sheet, plate, or strip, as of lead.
"[…] And there with ſtately pompe by heapes they wend, / And Chriſtians ſlaine rolle vp in webs of lead […]"
- 23 A thin metal sheet, plate, or strip, as of lead.; The blade of a sword.
"Argant a ſword, whereof the web was ſteele, / Pommell, rich ſtone ; hilts, gold, approu’d by tuch, / With rareſt workmanſhip all forged weele, / The curious art exceld the ſubſtance much."
- 24 A thin metal sheet, plate, or strip, as of lead.; The blade of a saw.
- 25 A thin metal sheet, plate, or strip, as of lead.; The thin, sharp part of a colter.
- 26 A thin metal sheet, plate, or strip, as of lead.; The bit of a key.
- 27 A major broadcasting network. US, dated
"[…] the first big move toward a contract for television performers was made Friday (20) when the webs agreed to pay them according to the length of the show. […] Altho the major TV webs — NBC and CBS — may fall in line soon, an agreement may possibly be held up by the opposition of DuMont […]"
- 28 A section of a groin vault, separated by ribs.
- 29 A cataract of the eye. archaic
Verb
- 1 To construct or form a web. intransitive
- 2 construct or form a web, as if by weaving wordnet
- 3 To cover with a web or network. transitive
"The canker worm has no shelter upon the tree, but lies out upon the leaf or branch ; this forms itself a house by webbing the corner of a leaf, into which it retreats on the first appearance of danger[…]"
- 4 To ensnare or entangle. transitive
- 5 To provide with a web. transitive
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To weave. obsolete, transitive
"Item that the Wever whiche shall have the wevyng of eny wollen yerne to be webbed into cloth shall weve werk[…]"
Proper Noun
- 1 Alternative letter-case form of Web: the World Wide Web. alt-of
"Let me search the web for that."
- 2 The World Wide Web.
"Some of that content is now only available on the Web."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"More than 90 percent of visits to a web page are from search engines."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "web"?
Common synonyms include: network, world wide web, anatomy, animal fiber, arabesque, architectonics.
How do you use "web" in a sentence?
More than 90 percent of visits to a web page are from search engines.
How do you pronounce "web"?
Pronounced /wɛb/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *webʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *webaną Proto-Germanic *wabją Old English webb Middle English web English web From Middle English web, webbe, from Old English webb, from Proto-West Germanic *wabi, from Proto-Germanic *wabją (“web”), from Proto-Germanic *webaną (“to weave”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”). Cognates Cognate with Scots wab (“web”), North Frisian wääb (“web”), Saterland Frisian Wäb (“web”), West Frisian and Dutch web (“web”), Danish væv (“web”), Faroese vevur (“web”), Icelandic vefur (“web”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk vev (“web”), Swedish väv (“web”); also Cornish goghi (“wasps”), Irish foich, foiche, puch (“wasp”), Welsh gwchi (“drone”), Latin vespa (“wasp”), Ancient Greek ὑφή (huphḗ, “web”), ὑφαίνω (huphaínō, “to weave”) (whence Greek ανυφαίνω (anyfaíno), υφαίνω (yfaíno, “to weave”)), Albanian vej (“to weave”), Latvian lapsene (“wasp”), Lithuanian vapsvà (“wasp”), Old Prussian wobse (“wasp”), Belarusian аса́ (asá, “wasp”), Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, and Ukrainian оса́ (osá, “wasp”), Czech vosa (“wasp”), Polish, Slovak, and Slovene osa (“wasp”), Serbo-Croatian о̀са, òsa (“wasp”), Armenian մոզ (moz, “a kind of fly that bites horses and cattle”), Northern Kurdish moz (“hornet; wasp”), Persian بافتن (bâftan, “to weave”), Tocharian A wäp- (“to weave”), Tocharian B wāp- (“to weave”), Sanskrit उभ्नाति (ubhnāti, “to hurt, kill; to cover; fill”).
Etymology 2
Ellipsis of World Wide Web.