deep web

noun

variants or less commonly Deep Web

: the set of web pages on the World Wide Web that are not indexed by search engines but that may be viewable in a standard Web browser (as by logging in to a website)

The deep web is everything that is not indexed by search engines, including pages behind paywalls, password-protected information, or closed intranets. Personal information that only you can access though your bank's website, for example, is part of the deep web.

—Eileen Ormsby

compare dark web

Examples of deep web in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This involves not only tracking deep web activities but also watching the dark web. —Shay Solomon, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025

After a drug deal gone wrong, a bruised detective must fight his way through a criminal underworld to rescue a politician’s estranged son, while unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city. —Katcy Stephan, Variety, 30 Jan. 2025

The album arrived in July to yet more rave reviews and another bow atop the Billboard 200, with critics and fans delighting in the set’s DJ set-like pacing and structuring, its boundless dancefloor energy and its deep web of cultural and musical references. —Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 3 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

2000, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for deep web

• cobweb
• deb
• ebb