spider

plural spiders

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

   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.

   1805, Songs for the Nursery, page 23

   Synonyms: attercop, cop

2. InternetcountableuncountableA program which follows links on the World Wide Web in order to gather information.

   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.

   2008, Alex Michael, Ben Salter, Marketing Through Search Optimization, Routledge, →ISBN, page xii

   Synonyms: crawler

3. AustraliaNew ZealandcountableuncountableA float (drink) made by mixing ice-cream and a soda or fizzy drink (such as lemonade).

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

4. AustraliaNew ZealandcountableobsoleteuncountableAn alcoholic drink made with brandy and lemonade or ginger beer.
5. countableslanguncountableA spindly person.
6. countableslanguncountableA man who persistently approaches or accosts a woman in a public social setting, particularly in a bar.
7. countableuncountableball gamesA stick with a convex arch-shaped notched head used to support the cue when the cue ball is out of reach at normal extension.

   Synonyms: bridge

8. UKUScountabledialectalhistoricaluncountablecookingA cast-iron frying pan with three legs, once common in open-hearth cookery.

   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.

   2 more examples

   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.

   1846, Mary Hooker Cornelius, The Young Housekeeper's Friend, page 146, recipe 28 “To fry salt pork”

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

   2005, Marty Davidson, Grandma Grace's Southern Favorites, recipe for “strawberry coconuts”, Rutledge Hill Press, page 193

9. countableuncountablecookingImplement for moving food in and out of hot oil for deep frying, with a circular metal mesh attached to a long handle; a spider skimmer

   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).

   1996, City and Guilds of London Institute, Food preparation and cooking. Cookery units. Student guide., Stanley Thornes, unit 2ND5, element 2, page 157

   1 more example

   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.

   2008, Anna Kasabian, David Kasabian, The Wild Fish Cookbook, Creative Publishing International, →ISBN, page 84

10. countableuncountablecyclingA part of a crank, to which the chainrings are attached.
11. slanguncountableHeroin.

    Synonyms: Big H, boy, brown sugar, brown, bujj, diacetylmorphine, diamorphine, dog food

12. countableuncountableentertainmentPart of a resonator instrument that transmits string vibrations from the bridge to a resonator cone at multiple points.
13. countableuncountableA skeleton or frame with radiating arms or members, often connected by crosspieces, such as a casting forming the hub and spokes to which the rim of a fly wheel or large gear is bolted; the body of a piston head; or a frame for strengthening a core or mould for a casting.
14. Englandcountableuncountablefly fishingA soft-hackle fly.
15. countableuncountablehobbiesThe network of wires separating the areas of a dartboard.
16. countableuncountablemathematicsA spider graph or spider tree.
17. countableobsoleteuncountableA type of light phaeton.

    I am also disappointed with the horses, having hardly seen a decent pair yet, while the traps and horses do not look smart and well groomed. There are a great many American spiders used. Have not seen a bullock in the yoke yet.

    1901 July 19, “To Australia and Back”, in The Agricultural Journal and Mining Record, volume 4, number 10, page 298

18. countableuncountableartsA support for a camera tripod, preventing it from sliding.

    The spider is very useful for shooting in the studio or on locations with smooth floors where tripod legs tend to slide.

    1927, H. Mario Raimondo Souto, The Technique of the Motion Picture Camera, page 64

19. countableuncountablebowlsA competition in which several participants are spread evenly around the edges of the green, who all make one bowl towards the central jack at the same time; the winner being the person whose bowl ends up closest to the jack.
20. countableuncountableA bit for turning fasteners with 8-pointed heads.

    Synonyms: double square, 8-point star

present singular third person spiders · participle present spidering · participle past spidered · past spidered

1. intransitiveTo move like a spider.

   A year later she returned to El Cap and spidered up the wall again — this time in 23 hours.

   2001, Life Books, Life: The Greatest Adventures of All Time, Time Home Entertainment Incorporated, →ISBN

   2 more examples

   They saved the hall though the facing and part of the roof had to be torn out and replaced, men spidered over the building to repair it before Coaker's arrival.

   2009, Michael Crummey, Galore: A novel, Doubleday Canada, →ISBN

   Briefly he considered letting go to glide along in Radu's wake as the assassin spidered up the wall.

   2012, David Gross, Lord of Stormweather: Sembia: Gateway to the Realms, Wizards of the Coast, →ISBN

2. intransitiveTo cover a surface like a cobweb.

   Large cracks spidered across the mask's glass where the nozzle had hit.

   2011, MJ Ware, Super Zombie Juice Mega Bomb, MJA Ware, →ISBN

   2 more examples

   High walls surrounded it on all sides, each one covered with the skeletal stems of climbing plants that spidered across the stones, and the ground was cobbled between patches of frozen grass.

   2011, Jenna Burtenshaw, Wintercraft: Blackwatch, Hachette UK, →ISBN

   Moss spidered across the stone, fresh green. Seaweed sprouted bright yellows and ochres between the vast webs of fingers.

   2013, Mary Gentle, Rats and Gargoyles, Hachette UK, →ISBN

3. InternetTo follow links on the World Wide Web in order to gather information.

   The online dictionary is regularly spidered by search engines.

1. The 29th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.