spider

(noun, verb)

noun

1. predatory arachnid with eight legs, two poison fangs, two feelers, and usually two silk-spinning organs at the back end of the body; they spin silk to make cocoons for eggs or traps for prey

Definition categories: animal, arachnid, arachnoid

2. a computer program that prowls the internet looking for publicly accessible resources that can be added to a database; the database can then be searched with a search engine

Similar word(s): wanderer

Definition categories: communication, program, programme

3. a skillet made of cast iron

Definition categories: man–made, frypan, skillet

verb

1. (Internet, of a computer program) to follow links on the World Wide Web in order to gather information.

- The online dictionary is regularly spidered by search engines.