spi ‧ der /ˈspaɪdə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: spithra , from spinnan ; ⇨ ↑ spin 1 ]
1 . a small creature with eight legs, which catches insects using a fine network of sticky threads
2 . technical a computer program that searches the Internet for the best websites with the information you want, so that you can find it quickly SYN crawler , bot ⇨ crawl the net/web
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COLLOCATIONS
■ phrases
▪ a spider's web (=the network of threads a spider makes)
■ verbs
▪ a spider spins/weaves a web (=makes a network of threads)
A spider had spun a web between the bars of the gate.
▪ a spider climbs somewhere
There's a spider climbing up your leg.
▪ a spider crawls somewhere
A huge spider just crawled under that chair.
▪ a spider scuttles somewhere (=runs quickly)
The spider was scuttling towards the door.
▪ a spider bites somebody
He was bitten by a tropical spider in a bunch of bananas.