orb-weaver

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WORDNET DICTIONARY

Noun orb-weaver has 1 sense

orb-weaver(n = noun.animal) argiopidae, family argiopidae - spiders that spin orb webs; cosmopolitan in distribution;

is a kind of arthropod family

is a member of araneae, araneida, order araneae, order araneida

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CIDE DICTIONARY

orb-weaver, n.

Any spider of the family Araneidae (called also Argiopidae) that spins a web with a pattern of lines spiraling outward from the center. They have eight similar eyes. The golden orb weaver, Mephila clavipes, is known for the remarkable dragline silk it produces for use as a frame for its web and as a line on which it can plummet down and nab prey. This silk has a high tensile strength and is stronger than the toughest current synthetic polymer (Kevlar). [PJC]