spinneret
noun
spin·ner·et
ˌspi-nə-ˈret 
1
: an organ (as of a spider or caterpillar) for producing threads of silk from the secretion of silk glands
2
or spinnerette
: a small metal plate, thimble, or cap with fine holes through which a chemical solution (as of cellulose) is forced in the spinning of man-made filaments (as of rayon or nylon)
Examples of spinneret in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Every so often, their legs curl and their spinnerets twitch—and the retinas of their eyes, visible through their translucent exoskeletons, shift back and forth.
—
Carolyn Wilke, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Sep. 2023
Every so often, their legs curl and their spinnerets twitch — and the retinas of their eyes, visible through their translucent exoskeletons, shift back and forth.
—Carolyn Wilke, Popular Science, 6 Sep. 2023
Upon contact with the sleeping bug’s cuticle, candy-stripers pull sticky silk from spinnerets with their legs, slinging this glue droplet lasso around the insect.
—Lesley Evans Ogden, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2023
As the spider uses its legs to pull silk out of a spinneret, these globules are squeezed into a narrow tube.
—Helen Czerski, WSJ, 28 Oct. 2022
Actually a protein created by special organs known as spinnerets, spider silk can be used for transportation, shelter, courtship, and all kinds of creative ways to trap prey.
—Jason Bittel, National Geographic, 12 Sep. 2019
This solution was so alien that the scientist running the spinneret (the device that spins the liquid polyamides into fibers, like a spinning wheel making thread) was afraid Kwolek’s stuff would break their machine.
—Dan Samorodnitsky, Smithsonian, 21 Aug. 2019
Uraraneida have more primitive spinnerets and retain the telson that modern day spiders no longer have.
—John Wenz, Popular Mechanics, 5 Feb. 2018
In order to convert the soft thread into a solid lattice structure, it is covered with a special resin in the spinneret.
—Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum, 8 Apr. 2016
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Carolyn Wilke, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Sep. 2023
Every so often, their legs curl and their spinnerets twitch — and the retinas of their eyes, visible through their translucent exoskeletons, shift back and forth.
—Carolyn Wilke, Popular Science, 6 Sep. 2023
Upon contact with the sleeping bug’s cuticle, candy-stripers pull sticky silk from spinnerets with their legs, slinging this glue droplet lasso around the insect.
—Lesley Evans Ogden, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2023
As the spider uses its legs to pull silk out of a spinneret, these globules are squeezed into a narrow tube.
—Helen Czerski, WSJ, 28 Oct. 2022
Actually a protein created by special organs known as spinnerets, spider silk can be used for transportation, shelter, courtship, and all kinds of creative ways to trap prey.
—Jason Bittel, National Geographic, 12 Sep. 2019
This solution was so alien that the scientist running the spinneret (the device that spins the liquid polyamides into fibers, like a spinning wheel making thread) was afraid Kwolek’s stuff would break their machine.
—Dan Samorodnitsky, Smithsonian, 21 Aug. 2019
Uraraneida have more primitive spinnerets and retain the telson that modern day spiders no longer have.
—John Wenz, Popular Mechanics, 5 Feb. 2018
In order to convert the soft thread into a solid lattice structure, it is covered with a special resin in the spinneret.
—Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum, 8 Apr. 2016
Cite this Entry
“Spinneret.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spinneret. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
spinneret
noun
spin·ner·et
ˌspin-ə-ˈret
: an organ especially of a spider or caterpillar that has a small hole through which the sticky fluid produced by the silk glands is forced and hardens to form a silk thread
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