Spider: meaning, definitions and examples

Use this word in everyday speech when referring to the common eight-legged creature. It's the most generic term.

• There's a spider in the corner of the room
• Spiders help control insect populations

This word is best used in scientific or more formal contexts where precision is important. It refers to the class of joint-legged invertebrates which includes spiders, scorpions, ticks, and mites.

• Spiders are part of the arachnid family
• Arachnids have eight legs and no antennae

Focuses on the spider's ability to create webs. Use this term when discussing how they make webs or their web-spinning behavior.

• Web-spinners create intricate designs to catch their prey
• The web-spinner weaves a new web every night

Describes spiders in a functional way, emphasizing their role in catching insects. Suitable for informal conversations about their behavior.

• Spiders are excellent insect-catchers
• The insect-catcher in my garden keeps the pest population low

Use this term mainly in the context of search engines and web indexing. This term is often used in a technical context, where people are familiar with how search engines work.

• Google uses spiders to index websites for search results.
• A spider crawled through my site and updated its index.

Use this term like 'spider,' specifically in contexts related to web indexing and search engines. It is more formal and technical.

• A web crawler visits websites to gather information for search engines.
• The web crawler updated our website's metadata in the search index.

This term is used for software applications that run automated tasks over the Internet. It can be used in both positive and negative contexts, including marketing, gaming, customer service, or spam.

• Chatbots are becoming popular for customer service.
• Some bots are used to spam forums with unwanted messages.

Use this term when referring to any software designed to perform tasks automatically. It's a broader term that can be used in various fields such as IT, robotics, and automation.

• We created an automated program to schedule our social media posts.
• The automated program saved us hours of manual work.