Spidery describes something that looks like a spider or a spider's web: thin, delicate, and spreading out in different directions. When someone has spidery handwriting, their letters are thin and angular, with lines that stretch and connect in ways that can be hard to read. Old documents often show spidery script where the writer used a quill pen to create elegant but fragile-looking letters.

The word can describe anything with this spider-like quality. Bare tree branches against a winter sky look spidery as they spread out in thin, dark lines. A crack in glass might spread in a spidery pattern from the point of impact. Some plants have spidery roots that branch out in many directions underground.

Spidery suggests both delicacy and a slightly eerie quality. A spidery shadow on the wall might make you pause, even though it's just the shadow of a houseplant. When you write something in tiny, spidery letters, you're creating text that's intricate but perhaps harder for others to decipher.