Spider

/ˈspaɪ̯də/ · noun

Meaning

Any of various eight-legged, predatory arthropods, of the order Araneae, most of which spin webs to catch prey..

Definitions by Sense

1. Any of various eight-legged, predatory arthropods, of the order Araneae, most of which spin webs to catch prey.
2. (Internet) A program which follows links on the World Wide Web in order to gather information.
3. (chiefly Australia and New Zealand) A float (drink) made by mixing ice-cream and a soda or fizzy drink (such as lemonade).
4. (Australia, New Zealand, obsolete) An alcoholic drink made with brandy and lemonade or ginger beer.
5. (slang) A spindly person.
6. (slang) A man who persistently approaches or accosts a woman in a public social setting, particularly in a bar.
7. (snooker, billiards) A stick with a convex arch-shaped notched head used to support the cue when the cue ball is out of reach at normal extension.
8. (cooking, US, UK, chiefly historical and now dialectal) A cast-iron frying pan with three legs, once common in open-hearth cookery.

Example Sentences

Little Miss Muffet, She sat on a tuffet, Eating of curds and whey; There came a little spider, Who sat down beside her, And frighted Miss Muffet away.

Crawler-based search engines have three major elements. The first is the spider, also called the crawler, which visits a web page, reads it, and then follows links to other pages within the site.

2002, Katharine Gasparini, Cranberry and vanilla ice cream spider, recipe in Cool Food, page 339.

Cut slices and lay them in cold water in the spider; boil them up two or three minutes, then pour off the water and set the spider again on the coals and brown the slices on each side.

In spider pan or deep skillet set over hot coals, quickly fry a few at a time in deep lard until brown.

2008, Corona Club (San Francisco, California), Corona Club Cook Book, page 202, Melt ½ the dry sugar in the spider, stirring with knife until all is melted.

If you are deep-frying your falafel, use a spider or basket to place them gently into the hot oil, which should be preheated to a temperature of 175°C (330°F).

Consider investing in a frying basket or a spider for small amounts of fish. A spider looks like a metal web and has a long handle and can lower and raise fish from the hot oil.

Synonyms for spider

Antonyms for spider

Related Words

Word Forms

• spiders
• spidering
• spidered

Usage Notes

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