1. 1. A woven fabric, especially one on a loom or just removed from it.
   2. The structural part of cloth.
2. A latticed or woven structure: A web of palm branches formed the roof of the hut.
3. A structure of delicate, threadlike filaments characteristically spun by spiders or certain insect larvae.
4. Something intricately contrived, especially something that ensnares or entangles: caught in a web of lies.
5. A complex, interconnected structure or arrangement: a web of telephone wires.
6. often Web The World Wide Web.
7. A radio or television network.
8. A membrane or fold of skin connecting the toes, as of certain amphibians, birds, and mammals.
9. The barbs on each side of the shaft of a bird's feather; a vane.
10. Baseball. A piece of leather or leather mesh that fills the space between the thumb and forefinger of a baseball glove. Also called trap, webbing.
11. Architecture. A space or compartment between the ribs or groins of a vault. Also called cell.
12. A metal sheet or plate connecting the heavier sections, ribs, or flanges of a structural element.
13. A thin metal plate or strip, as the bit of a key or the blade of a saw.
14. A large continuous roll of paper, such as newsprint, either in the process of manufacture or as it is fed into a web press.

1. To provide with a web.
2. To cover or envelop with a web.
3. To ensnare in a web.

[Middle English, from Old English.]

USAGE NOTE   The word Web is usually capitalized when referring to the World Wide Web: Many sites on the Web have information about used cars. In this use, however, the word is increasingly found lowercase, and this usage may become dominant. See Usage Notes at website.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.