Cobweb \Cob"web`\, n. [Cob a spider + web.]

1. The network spread by a spider to catch its prey.

2. A snare of insidious meshes designed to catch the ignorant and unwary.

I can not but lament thy splendid wit Entangled in the cobwebs of the schools. --Cowper.

3. That which is thin and unsubstantial, or flimsy and worthless; rubbish.

The dust and cobwebs of that uncivil age. --Sir P. Sidney.

4. (Zo["o]l.) The European spotted flycatcher.

Cobweb lawn, a fine linen, mentioned in 1640 as being in pieces of fifteen yards. --Beck. Draper's Dict.

Such a proud piece of cobweb lawn. --Beau. & Fl.

Cobweb micrometer, a micrometer in which threads of cobweb are substituted for wires.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)