Added 6 October 2026
cobweb
/ˈkɒbwɛb/ noun
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about cobweb at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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A spiderweb, especially a large one, an old abandoned one covered with debris and dust or an asymmetrical one woven with an irregular pattern of threads.
cobweb model, cobweb theory
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One of a spiderweb's filaments; gossamer; anything flimsy and gauzy, intricately interconnected or otherwise like a cobweb.
cobweb model, cobweb theory
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An intricate plot to catch the unwary; something entangling or confusing.
I was confused by the cobwebs of contract law.
Origin
From Middle English copweb, coppeweb, coppewebbe, from Old English ātorcoppe (“spider”) + Old English webb. Compare Middle Dutch kopwebbe, German Low German Kobbenwebbe (Westphalian). By surface analysis, cob (“spider”, obsolete) + web.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)