From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcobwebcob‧web /ˈkɒbweb $ ˈkɑːb-/ noun [countable] 1 HBIa net of sticky threads made by a spider to catch insects, that is inside a building and has not been removed2 → blow/clear the cobwebs away —cobwebbed adjective
Examples from the Corpus
cobweb• He swept her resistance aside as if it were a cobweb.• Her wispy gray hair was loose, hanging down her back like cobwebs, and her hands were folded in her lap.• This means, in the two preview episodes, brushing away canons of ethics like cobwebs.• But there was no dust, no dirt, no cobwebs.• He put his hand up to his face, as if to clear the cobwebs from his thoughts, then shrugged.• Peering through the cobwebs at the stable clock, Umberto realized he should have been up an hour ago.• I know that I am not meant to vac up the spiders, just their cobwebs.• There are enough teachers who sleepwalk through their profession, mindsets clogged with cobwebs.Origin cobweb (1300-1400) cop “spider” ((14-15 centuries)) (from Old English atorcoppe “spider”) + web 