black widow

noun

: a venomous New World spider (Latrodectus mactans of the family Theridiidae) the female of which is black with an hourglass-shaped red mark on the underside of the abdomen

broadly : any of various related venomous spiders that have a large globular, usually glossy, dark abdomen often marked with red and long and wiry legs

Illustration of black widow

Examples of black widow in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 1939, the London Zoo killed more than 200 animals, starting with the black widow spiders and venomous snakes. —John M. Kinder, The Conversation, 1 May 2025

Javadi winds up working on one of her mother’s Crohn’s patients and realizes this woman isn’t suffering from a perforated bowel but rather from a black widow spider bite. —Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025

And disconcerting moments are in the show, such as the larger-than-life black widow spiders that dangle from the ceiling. —Dewayne Bevil, Orlando Sentinel, 19 Feb. 2025

This includes brown and black widows and brown recluse. —Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 6 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for black widow

• kiddo

Kids Definition

black widow

noun

: a poisonous New World spider the female of which is black with an hourglass-shaped red mark on the underside of the abdomen

Medical Definition

black widow

noun

black wid·​ow -ˈwid-ˌō 

: a venomous New World spider of the genus Latrodectus (L. mactans) the female of which is black with an hourglass-shaped red mark on the underside of the abdomen

broadly : any other spider of the genus Latrodectus