cobweb weaver

noun

variants or cobweb spider

: comb-footed spider

Cobwebs are a sign that web-building spiders of the family Theridiidae, more commonly called comb-footed spiders, or cobweb weavers, have invaded the house.

—Victoria Dickenson and Jeff Harrison, The Ottawa (Ontario) Citizen, 10 Oct. 1993

He told me that cobweb spiders (and a few of their relatives) hurl huge droplets of sticky silk to attack their prey.

—Sue Hubbell, Smithsonian, May 1996

Word History

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined above

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