spider

UK: /ˈspaɪdə^r/ US: /ˈspaɪdɚ/ ,(spī′dər)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

spi•der /ˈspaɪdɚ/   n. [countable]

1. Invertebrates a small creature with eight legs and a body divided into two parts, producing a silky web used as a nest and for trapping food:
   Spiders are not insects because they have eight legs.
2. any device with leglike extensions that resemble a spider, such as a tripod or trivet.

spi•der•y, adj. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

spi•der  (spī′dər), n. 

1. Invertebrates any of numerous predaceous arachnids of the order Araneae, most of which spin webs that serve as nests and as traps for prey.
2. Invertebrates (loosely) any of various other arachnids resembling or suggesting these.
3. any of various things resembling or suggesting a spider.
4. a frying pan, originally one with legs or feet.
5. a trivet or tripod, as for supporting a pot or pan on a hearth.
6. [Mach.]
   • Mechanical Engineering a part having a number of radiating spokes or arms, usually not connected at their outer ends.
   • Mechanical Engineering Also called cross. (in a universal joint) a crosslike part pivoted between the forked ends of two shafts to transmit motion between them.
7. an evil person who entraps or lures others by wiles.
8. Mechanical Engineering a device attached to a cultivator, for pulverizing the soil.

• bef. 1150; Middle English spithre, Old English spīthra, akin to spinnan to spin; cognate with Danish spinder

spi′der•less, adj. 
spi′der•like′, adj. 

spider, +n. 

1. Computing a computer program that automatically retrieves Web pages for use by search engines.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

spider / ˈspaɪdə/ noun

1. any predatory silk-producing arachnid of the order Araneae, having four pairs of legs and a rounded unsegmented body consisting of abdomen and cephalothorax
   See also wolf spider, trap-door spider, tarantula, black widow
2. any of various similar or related arachnids
3. any implement or tool having the shape of a spider
4. any part of a machine having a number of radiating spokes, tines, or arms
5. Also called: octopus a cluster of elastic straps fastened at a central point and used to hold a load on a car rack, motorcycle, etc
6. a rest having long legs, used to raise the cue above the level of the height of the ball
7. a computer program that is capable of performing sophisticated recursive searches on the internet

Etymology: Old English spīthra; related to Danish spinder, German Spinne; see spin