noun
also spider's web
1. : a silk web constructed by a spider especially to entrap prey of threads composed of a viscid fluid that is secreted by glands in the abdomen, is discharged through minute orifices in the spinnerets, and hardens on exposure to the air in a form often characteristic of its family or genus — compare cobweb , orb web
2. : something that resembles or suggests a spider web in form, arrangement, or function
a spider web of railroads
a spider web of airlines
a spider's web of intrigue