web
/wɛb/noun, verb
web is spelled W-E-B: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 55 times per million words in written English, the 1,865th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, web means “The silken structure which a spider builds using silk secreted from the spinnerets at the caudal tip of its abdomen; a spiderweb” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of web is webs.
How many letters and syllables are in web?
| Letters | 3: W-E-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 55 times per million words; the 1,865th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is web?
Web appears 55 times per million words in written English, the 1,865th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce web?
- /wɛb/
Web has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-web.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of web
- webs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- webbing participle, present
- webbed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does web mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The silken structure which a spider builds using silk secreted from the spinnerets at the caudal tip of its abdomen; a spiderweb.
The sunlight glistened in the dew on the web.
- 2
Any of several similar materials, such as that created by tent caterpillars.
- 3
Any interconnected set of persons, places, or things, which, when diagrammed, resembles a spider's web.
- 4
A scheme.
web of lies
- 5
The Internet; the World Wide Web.
- 6
USdatedA major broadcasting network.
- 7
A latticed or woven structure.
The gazebo’s roof was a web made of thin strips of wood.
- 8
The part of a baseball mitt between the forefinger and thumb, the webbing.
He caught the ball in the web.
verb
- 1
To construct or form a web.
- 2
To cover with a web or network.
- 3
To ensnare or entangle.
- 4
To provide with a web.
- 5
obsoleteTo weave.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Web in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | réseau , panier, poche , âme , palmure |
| Portuguese | rede fna , palmura |
| Spanish | red , alma , membrana |
| German | Netz |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does web come from?
From Middle English web, webbe, from Old English webb, from Proto-West Germanic *wabi, from Proto-Germanic *wabją (“web”), from Proto-Germanic *webaną (“to weave”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).